Unpaid Vengeance
by Hiei's phoenix girl
Summary: Hiei's lover, Kiru, has been kidnapped by one of her former captors. But is he more than that? What will Hiei do now? A sequel to Friends, but can stand alone without background. PG-13 for adult themes and language. Complete!
1. Unpaid Vengeance: It begins

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part II of the Relations series  
  
Me: Konnichiwa, fans! Welcome to the next part of the Relations series! In case if you are reading this first, I suggest that you read the stories 'Friends' and 'Lifting the Darkness' for background, but this one can stand on its own too.  
  
Hiei: (Wiping chocolate ice cream from his face) Hello.  
  
Me: Hiei and I will be working together to summarize and the like at the beginning of each chapter so make sure you read the top and the bottom!  
  
Hiei: Some of the others in the cast will make appearances too. But for Kuwabaka fans (shivers at the thought of them)- I would suggest you just don't read this.  
  
Me: I live to torture him. (Evil smile)  
  
Hiei: So.since this is the first chapter.enjoy!  
  
Me: And now (a microphone and a spotlight appear on her), the moment all you loyal Relations fans have been waiting for. 'Unpaid Vengeance!'  
  
Hiei: By the way- she doesn't own any of the characters and the like from Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
--  
  
Kiru is sitting in the living room of her new house. Hiei and she have been living here for the past two months since they had gotten married. She smiles and caresses her wedding ring, excited about his upcoming return to their home.  
  
Their house is small and cozy, located about ten miles away from Mukuro's palace. Hiei is currently there, attending a meeting with Mukuro and the other Makai lords. Kiru found them way too boring- so she always stayed home during them. But she would usually accompany him when he went to train the troops under his command.  
  
Mukuro had generously allowed her to become assistant general of her army after a sparring match with her. Although it had been a long match, Kiru easily won, inflicting more than a few burns, cuts, and bruises on the Makai lady. She managed to escape with only a gash to her side. She smiles as she remembers how Hiei had fussed over her for days after that.  
  
Mukuro and she had become close friends after that match and now considered each other as best friends. They had tea together every afternoon, sometimes here and sometimes at the palace. Sometimes her sister-in-law, Yukina, would join them.  
  
Yukina and she shared a close relationship as well. They had the common ground of knowledge of healing and often swapped techniques and the like. Yukina's book of healing arts was now overflowing with information and remedies.  
  
Hiei and Kiru had also spent about a week training Yukina in some minor defensive techniques after a request from Yukina. She had learned very quickly and could now defend herself against up to a B-class attack.  
  
Mukuro and she also spent some days training the troops together. The troops had thought that Mukuro and Hiei were the worst as far as severity went but they were wrong. DEAD wrong.  
  
She was now known as the 'Lady of Torture' among the troops. Hiei always laughed when she put her squad through drills.  
  
Most of them were unconscious after the first ten minutes. She had no mercy on them and always made sure they all got in at least one match every time they trained. All the troops had bandages and ice packs those nights, courtesy of a sympathetic Kurama.  
  
She returns to reading a book that is sitting on the table. It is a book on Karma Sutra. She is trying to find a new way of pleasing Hiei for tonight. She smiles as she hits on a good one. Never tried this one yet.  
  
She is carefully absorbing every drop of information on the pages describing the position when she hears a footstep behind her- along with an overwhelmingly strong and familiar ki. Cold fear fills her expression as she puts the book down turns around to face the callously chuckling intruder.  
  
--  
  
Hiei is walking home after the six-hour meeting of the Makai lords. If he had to hear one more word out of any of them, he swore that his ears would fall off. He wondered how Yomi could stand all of that talking with all of those ears. They had talked about a small pond for an hour and a half, for god's sake! The only thing that had kept him from falling asleep during that meeting was his anticipation of his return to Kiru.  
  
Then he smiles as he thinks of his wife. He imagines how he will kiss her when he gets home. He wondered if she was reading that sex book again.  
  
The last time she had, he hadn't left the bed for two days. He started to walk a little faster.  
  
He fingered the dragon pendant around his neck, its worn surface comforting him, as it had done for all of these years.  
  
He starts to think about the events of the past two months. He was happier than he ever thought he could be. He had friends, family, a wife. He was anticipating the start of their attempts to get pregnant. They decided that they would soon try to start a family. Hiei was already looking forward to getting a little girl or boy to love. He was planning to take Kiru to the river bank that had become sort of a lover's spot tomorrow for a little romp.  
  
Then, interrupting his pleasant thoughts, he senses a strong, unfamiliar ki near Kiru's. Shit! It's a quest class! He quickens his pace and runs towards the house, terrible 'what ifs?' running though his mind. Just as he reaches the door to his home, he hears a cry of pain from his wife and throws the door open, panic racing through his system.  
  
--  
  
Me: Oh I'm so evil!  
  
Hiei: (eyes wide in awe) A cliffhanger on the first chapter.? (Shrugs and shakes his head) And here I thought I was evil!  
  
Me: Oh of course you're evil, I'm just more evil. (growing horns and a tail) I AM THE QUEEN OF EVILNESS!! HA HA HA! (maniacal laughter that turns into coughing)  
  
Hiei: O_O; (turns to the audience) Please read and review for her. She won't write more until you do. And that's the only thing that stops her from laughing like that. (pauses and stares at his still coughing lover) PLEASE review! And SOON!  
  
Me: HA (cough, cough) HA (cough cough) HA!!!!  
  
Hiei: 


	2. Chapter 2: A Blast from the Past

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Hiei: (reading the script) Why do you torture your alter ego?  
  
Me: (taking the script back) It makes the story interesting.  
  
Hiei: But- you torture my emotions too. (puppy eyes)  
  
Me: Sorry. Look on the bright side, you'll get to kill people soon.  
  
Hiei: (Smiles) Goody! (Takes out katana and cleans it) Can't wait!  
  
Me: Anyway. Last chapter was kind of just an intro. Kiru was alone in the hose and reviewed what happened in the past two months. Then an intruder arrives. Hiei senses this and tries to hurry home.  
  
Hiei: Yeah, (frowning) and I reach the door just in time to hear you screaming, koi. (snorts) Typical.  
  
Me: Shut up! Don't complain. (evil smile) Remember, I'm in charge of what happens to you. (types a few lines and lets Hiei read them)  
  
Hiei: (Eyes widening) Okay. I'll be good.  
  
Me: (Deletes the lines) Good.  
  
--  
  
Hiei throws open the door, fear racing through his system at his lover's cry. He is greeted by the sight of a large youkai holding Kiru by the front of her shirt with one hand. In his other hand, there is a bloody dagger. His eyes narrow in rage and his hair parts as he sees the gash in her waist.  
  
'You BASTARD!' Hiei yells, turning into his Jaganist form as he draws his katana, 'Put her down!'  
  
The demon turns and sneers at Hiei, placing the wincing Kiru in front of him like a shield.  
  
'Now, now,' the demon says, 'wouldn't want to risk hurting your little whore now would you?' He waves her around like a rag doll. Hiei growls at the demon, flaring his youki just a little. 'Oooh, so scary! Please don't hurt me, little one!'  
  
Hiei, having heard enough, dashes to the demon and tries to attack, only to find that he has sliced Kiru's arm.  
  
'Ahh!' she cries out as he inadvertently slices her. Blood pours from her arm, flooding the floor with its stickiness. Hiei stares in shock at the blood on his sword, and then looks in horror at Kiru.  
  
'K-Kiru.I.' Hiei stammers, guilt overpowering him.  
  
'Ha ha ha!' the demon laughs at the pain shadowing his eyes. The demon wraps his arm around Kiru's chest, raising the other to hold the knife at her throat. 'So, little one, how does it feel to hurt your little whore?' He presses the blade to Kiru's neck, causing a trickle of blood to run down her white neck. She winces again, causing Hiei to clench his teeth.  
  
Kiru.Hold on.He tells her telepathically. I'll save you.  
  
Hiei! Run! She cries out to him. He'll kill you! He-  
  
'Oh no you don't!' the demon says, knocking her over the head with the hilt of his dagger. She falls limp in his arms with little more than a short cry.  
  
Hiei cries out, 'Kiru!' He looks in horror at her limp, pale form draped in the demons arms.  
  
'Say goodbye to your whore,' the demon snarls, 'little one!' He disappears.  
  
'KIRU!!!!!!!' Hiei calls into the night, then collapses onto the ground, devastated by the turn of events. He closes his eyes and tries to compose himself, thinking of what he could do to save his wife from that demon.  
  
Suddenly, as he replays every image from the encounter, recognition clicks in his mind. That man.he was one of Kiru's captors! He sat in shock as the scene from the past replayed itself in his mind. His anger rose as he reviewed his memory for the ways he would kill him once he got to him.  
  
He got up and raced off into the night, heading for Mukuro's castle. Already, he was forming the plan of torture and death in vengeance for hurting his Kiru.  
  
Kiru.I'll save you. No matter what the cost.  
  
--  
  
Hiei: Koi!!! Why did you do that? (turning to me with panicked eyes.)  
  
Me: Don't worry, It'll be fine. (rereading the script for the next chapter,)  
  
Hiei: (reading over her shoulder) NOOO!!!!!!!! HE CAN'T DO THAT!!! She is MINE!!!! MINE!!!! MINE, I TELL YOU MINE!!! (races off)  
  
Me: Oh well, hope you enjoyed chapter two. Please review soon! Bye! 


	3. Chapter 3: Panic and Revelations

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Just when you think Kiru is safe, I kidnap her!!!  
  
Hiei: You're evil. (Stares at her and smiles evilly) I love you.  
  
Me: I know. That's why we make the perfect team. (Whispers something about torturing a certain carrot topped baka)  
  
Hiei: (fanged grin) Okay, but let me read the stuff first.  
  
Me: Okay, (prints out a paper and hands it to him) here you go.  
  
Hiei: K! Last chapter, I opened the door just in time to see Kiru being held up by a large quest class youkai. After an attempt to kill him for touching MY Kiru, I found that he was at least strong enough to move away from my attack, which hit my beloved. The bastard then escaped with her and left me to realize that he was one of Kiru's captors from the past. I then raced off to Mukuro's castle. Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Me: Okay, enjoy! Now then. back to Kuwabaka.(they huddle and giggle). WAIT A MINUTE! HIEI DOESN'T GIGGLE!!! (Pauses) Oh well. (Evil smile)  
  
--  
  
Mukuro is sitting in her office checking over some papers while her husband of two months Kurama reads over a report from one of the divisions. She continues to work diligently, until she feels a flare of quest class youki within her realm. But since it quickly dissipates, she disregarded it.  
  
That is, until she feels a familiar youki racing to her castle.  
  
'Why is Hiei back?' Kurama asks her, slightly concerned. He never comes back unless if we have dinner together. And then he brings Kiru.  
  
'I have no idea,' she says, putting down her work to await her heir's return.  
  
A few moments later, a very distressed Hiei blurs into the room, babbling about something unintelligibly. He and Mukuro exchange worried- and mildly frightened- glances.  
  
What could frazzle Hiei this much? Kurama wonders as he tries to comprehend his friends words unsuccessfully.  
  
'Slow down!' Mukuro orders her second, 'We can't help you if we can't understand what you're trying to say!' Jeeze, this can't be good.  
  
Hiei, frustrated, yells out, 'God damn it! Kiru just got kidnapped! By a quest class youkai!' He rakes a hand through his spiky hair and takes a deep breath. 'Plus she's hurt. Pretty badly, too. And she knows that kisama! K'so!' He flops down helplessly into a nearby chair and looks up at his friend's shocked faces.  
  
'Shit,' Mukuro says, 'So that's the energy I felt earlier.' She clenches her fist, cursing herself for keeping Hiei so long. 'I'm sorry, Hiei.'  
  
'I'll call the others,' Kurama says, preparing a message for Koenma, 'okay?' At Hiei's nod, he sends it away via a flyer.  
  
--  
  
~Ningenkai~  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara are sitting in class, listening to another boring lecture by their teacher.  
  
'Isn't this class ever going to end?' Yusuke whispers to his friend, staring helplessly at the clock.  
  
'I don't know. I thought I was going to die last time he gave a lecture.' Kuwabara says, obviously a little too loudly due to the teachers actions.  
  
'Kuwabara,' the teacher asks, hoping to humiliate his hated student (yay! Everyone hates Kuwabaka!), 'What conclusions can we draw from this evidence?'  
  
But, to everyone's dismay, the intercom interrupts with a message, 'Excuse me?'  
  
'What?' the teacher says, annoyed at the interruption of his torture.  
  
'Please send Urameshi Yusuke and Kuwabara Kazuma to the office,' the intercom announces, 'they will be leaving for the day.'  
  
'Grrr.' the teacher groans, 'Go to the office. Here's your homework.'  
  
'YES!' Kuwabara says as they walk to the office, 'Great timing! I had no idea what the answer was.' He has that really stupid grin on his face.  
  
'Oi,' Yusuke says, 'but WHO is getting us?' Yusuke thinks for a moment, 'If it's Koenma, I swear I'll scream.' They reach the office to see Shizuru signing them out.  
  
'Hey, sis,' Kuwabara says, 'what are you doing here?'  
  
Shizuru drags them out and brings them to the park. 'Go to Mukuro's castle. Now.'  
  
Yusuke raises an eyebrow. 'Why?'  
  
'Another mission?' Kuwabara asks to no one in particular.  
  
'No,' Shizuru says, looking down. A single tear drips down her face. She angrily wipes it away.  
  
'What's wrong?' Yusuke asks.  
  
'Must be bad to make her cry,' Kuwabara says, rubbing his sister's shoulder comfortingly.  
  
'It's Kiru,' Shizuru says, 'she was kidnapped.'  
  
'Shit!' Yusuke says, 'Bad!'  
  
'Let's go, Urameshi!' Kuwabara says, upset that his sister's friend was missing.  
  
The boys race off to the nearest gateway to the Makai, hoping they will be in time to help.  
  
--  
  
~Makai~  
  
'Wake up, bitch!' the captor says, dumping a pail of ice water over Kiru. She comes awake, gasping for breath, coughing slightly. 'What's wrong, can't take a little water?'  
  
Kiru growls at him, refusing to speak. She notices that she is tied down to a metal table with her arms and legs strapped down. She tries to break the bonds, but finds that they are wards. 'K'so!'  
  
The youkai laughs. 'Did you really think I was that stupid?' he frowns a little, 'I remember that first time I didn't use them.'  
  
Kiru snickers at him, 'Didn't like my fires, huh?'  
  
The demon slaps her. 'Shut up, bitch!' She glares at him, then spits at him. He wipes the spit from his cheek. 'Fine,' he says, taking out another ward, 'have it your way.' He smiles as her eyes widen as she realizes what the ward is.  
  
'A pain amplifier?' she whispers, remembering how well those worked last time.  
  
'Yes, bitch,' he says, activating it, 'Ready to scream?' He places the ward around her upper arm.  
  
A shock of intense pain from her numerous wounds from earlier runs through her body almost immediately. She winces and glares at him, fighting back the urge to scream.  
  
'What's wrong, bitch,' he sneers, pleased at her pain, 'can't take a little pain?'  
  
'I hate you, Daddy.'  
  
--  
  
Hiei: DADDY? That bastard is her FATHER?  
  
Me: Shhh! You aren't supposed to know that yet!  
  
Hiei: Oh. Nevermind. (Grins slightly)  
  
Me: (sigh) Anyway, hope you enjoyed chapter 3. Please review! Tune in soon for chapter 4!  
  
Hiei: But it's her father, right? He shouldn't do that! Besides, she's MINE!!!!  
  
Me: SHUT UP!!!!! 


	4. Chapter 4: Worry and Cruelty

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations Series  
  
Me: Okay, sorry 'bout the big delay, but I was stuck in that damned blizzard and really busy, as well as writer's blocked. Hope you don't mind too much.  
  
Hiei: They must not because no one is reviewing.  
  
Me: Yeah, but I won't update again until I get about 10 reviews so.  
  
Hiei: (evil smirk) Should I get the dust broom out?  
  
Me: Shut up! At least some one is reviewing! Thanks to those who are, your comments are appreciated and to those who aren't.well y'know.  
  
Hiei: Read it?  
  
Me: Yep.  
  
Hiei: Standard disclaimers. Last chapter, I was very flustered after Kiru's kidnapping and went to Mukuro's castle, where Kurama sends a notice to the Ningenkai for the rest of the Tantei. Yusuke and Kuwabaka ran for the Makai after being alerted by Shizuru. Then there was a torture scene that I don't want to think about and a shocking revelation that you all remember. (pauses for a minute) Oh yeah, I'm not supposed to know about that.Oh well.  
  
Me: (smacks him over the head) Please R/R and enjoy! (turns to Hiei) What do you mean 'Oh well.'  
  
--  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara run into Mukuro's office to a very, very impatient Hiei.  
  
'What the hell took you so long!?' Hiei snaps at them, his worry quite evident. He had paced a furrow into Mukuro's carpeting, something that Mukuro wouldn't be pleased with once she stopped worrying about her best friend. Kurama was trying in vain to calm the two down, but seems a little worried himself.  
  
'Sorry, Hiei,' Yusuke says, 'We stopped on the way to get Yukina.' Hiei looked up, gratitude in his eyes, and slightly smiled before muttering a 'thank you.'  
  
'Yeah,' Kuwabara says, 'Yukina will be here soon.' He pauses for a moment. 'What exactly happened anyway?'  
  
'Yeah,' Yusuke says, 'why would anyone want to kidnap her?'  
  
Hiei sighs, a frown clouding his brow. He repeats what happened hesitantly. 'As for why- I just don't know,' he looks dejectedly out the window, his hand reaching up to grab the blood stone necklace around his neck.  
  
'Geeze,' Yusuke says, disgusted at what the youkai had done, 'what the hell does that guy have against her?'  
  
'The only thing I can think of,' Hiei says, looking back towards his human friend, 'Is that he is peeved about how she is still alive.'  
  
'Still alive?' Kuwabara asks, 'what do you mean?'  
  
'Oh, I forgot you don't know,' Hiei says, 'Remember the scars on her arms?'  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
'Well, those scars are from that same goddamned youkai,' Hiei says, rage enveloping him again. He retells the story of their past, recounting the day they were separated and what he had seen in her mind when he had entered it.  
  
'Oh, how horrible!' a small voice says from the hallway. Everyone turns to see a crying Yukina in the hallway. Hiei walks over and hugs her close, shushing her tears. She pulls away and looks at her brother. She searches his eyes. In them is a silent agony, caused by the pain from his beloved's capture. 'Gomenasai, Oniisan,' she breathes, 'We'll get her back, I promise.'  
  
Hiei smiles gently, 'Arigato, imouto-chan.' --  
  
'Thank you,' Mukuro says to the messenger. She had sent Koenma a letter asking (threatening death if not followed) for the whereabouts of Kiru. He had complied quickly- *very* quickly and sent her a thick file containing not only her whereabouts, but a large file on the youkai who controlled that area.  
  
'That's the bastard,' Hiei says, rage apparent in his deadly calm voice, 'Ryudo, Quest class half-ice, half-earth youkai.' His mind started to run with ways to kill him that would most hurt those particular elemental youkai.  
  
'Well,' Mukuro says, also brimming with rage over her friend's treatment, 'time to kill some youkai ass!' She turns to her fuming second. 'Ready, Hiei?'  
  
Hiei nods, 'Hai, Mukuro.' He turns to the door and walks out his friends following behind.  
  
I'll get that bastard. Mark my words. Just hold on for a little longer, love.  
  
--  
  
Kiru gasps, choking on water that was just dumped on her. She glares in the general direction of the source of the water, hating the weakness in her body at the current time and cursing the wards strapped on her body. She growls when she sees who it is.  
  
'What's the matter, Kiru-chan,' Ryudo sneers at her, 'not happy to see Daddy?'  
  
'Bastard,' she spits back at him, fighting back a wince. She would never admit it, but due to the pain amplifier, she felt like she was being dipped into liquid agony. She hoped that he wouldn't cut her, because now she had no control over the formation of her blood stones. Pain or sadness made them form and she was quite familiar with the latter at the moment.  
  
Ryudo laughs, then turns to the door, 'Boys, I think you should come in now.'  
  
Kiru watches as two men, one short and one near five ten. At first, all she can see is their silhouettes, but as they approach closer, she narrows her eyes in another glare.  
  
'Well, well, well,' one of them says, 'look what we have here.'  
  
'It's little Kiru,' the other leers at her body, which is encased in her loungewear of a tunic and loose trousers, 'but she's not so little anymore.' He licks his lips as he stares at her breasts.  
  
'Hentai!' she insults, 'Why don't you ever grow up, Taki?'  
  
'Oi, Yoh,' Taki says, pushing back his greasy mop of hair from his ugly brown face, 'looks like the brat hasn't learned her lesson yet.'  
  
'Well then,' Ryudo interrupts, 'we'll just have to make sure she does this time.' He pulls out a knife from a small scabbard on his waist. 'Look familiar, darling?'  
  
Kiru's eyes widen as she sees it is one of the ones used all those years ago to scar her arms. She watches in horror as she sees Taki and Yoh remove their own daggers, as well.  
  
'You remember what happens next, right chibi-chan?' Ryudo questions as he shoves the daggers into a small coal pit. He approaches her and says, 'I'll wake you when we're ready.'  
  
Kiru has no time to process that before his fist flies out and excruciating pain reels her head. The last thing she hears as she falls into a pit of black is the three laughing.laughing.laughing.  
  
Kisamas.  
  
--  
  
Me: Okay, hope you liked number 4 in UV! Please Review! Or else you get no more!  
  
Hiei: (with a bump on his head) And I'll get more bumps.  
  
Me: Sorry, Hiei-chan! ^_^;  
  
Hiei: S'okay, koi. I forgive you. (Sending naughty thoughts)  
  
Me: Down, Hiei down! This is PG-13, remember?!  
  
Hiei: (pouting) Damn. 


	5. Chapter 5: Torture of Body and Mind

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Konnichi wa everyone! Due to popular- well fan- demand, I will continue to update on a regular basis, without waiting for a certain number of reviews.  
  
Hiei: Yeah, they were practically begging us to.  
  
Me: (slight glare) You mean they were begging ME to. You aren't the one typing every night. Not to mention that you don't have to do a lab write-up every week.  
  
Hiei: Well, I have to suffer through the acting.  
  
Me: (angry marks) . Are you implying, Jaganshi, that I am not. a good writer?  
  
Hiei: (shrinks) N-n-n-no!!  
  
Me: (chibi sniffles and big teary eyes) Y-you don't like them!!! (crying) WAAAAAHHHH!!!! (runs away)  
  
Hiei: Oh shit.I have to make this quick, but.(grabs envelope and tears it open) last chapter, the baka and Yusuke finally showed up and we gathered some background on the youkai, Ryudo, that kidnapped Kiru and where he was keeping her. We left after I told of her past and Yukina arrived. Meanwhile, in her prison, Kiru was awakened with ice water and relived a nightmare as her captors prepared to repeat their torture from all those years ago. Standard disclaimers apply. (looks for me with jagan) Kiru! Kiru come back! (runs in my general direction)  
  
Disembodied voice of me: Please (sniffle) enjoy. and (sniffle) review. WAAAAH!  
  
--  
  
Once again, Kiru awoke to a rush of ice water pouring over her throbbing head. She coughed and sputtered, glaring daggers at a laughing Ryudo. She shook the water from her hair, some of it landing on the nearby coal pit. The droplets sizzled and popped as they hit the flaming coals. She glanced over briefly to see that the daggers were warming.  
  
'Oh, the little one is awake,' Taki sneered, playing with a needle-thin blade in the corner. He tosses it to Yoh.  
  
'We're going to have so much fun today,' he laughs as she growls at him, 'Now, now, don't worry, you'll have.fun.too!'  
  
'Yes, chibi-chan,' Ryudo says, easily catching the blade as it is tossed to him from Yoh, 'and we're going to begin with your favorite.' Kiru pales as she remembers 'her favorite.'  
  
Ryudo draws closer and asks, 'Where's your lover, chibi?'  
  
She refuses to answer, turning her head and staring at the wall.  
  
He laughs, 'Have it your way then.' He draws the blade over her waist, cutting off the bottom half of her tunic, as well as her skin.  
  
Her head swam in black pain as the blood started to ooze from the shallow, yet painful wound. It dripped to the floor, landing as priceless jewels. She fought back the urge to cry out, opting for the more dignified option of silence. She stared at the wall.  
  
'My turn,' Taki says, walking up and taking the blade, 'Where's the fire brat, little one?'  
  
Silence.  
  
'I love this,' he says, drawing the blade over both of her legs, chopping off her pants to above the knee, creating more painful slashes. She closed her eyes against the pain and listened to the clink of her blood stones landing on the floor.  
  
One billion, three billion, seven.her mind counted off, guessing the price those jewels would bring to those bastards. She could sense a servant demon gathering them up and placing them into a woven basket near the door.  
  
Yoh took his turn next, chopping off her gloves and laughing at the scarring. He drew the blade over a few of them, drawing more blood. They continued to 'take turns' until all of her clothing was off. Taki made the final cut, slicing her pants from her waist, as well as the shirt off of her breasts. Her silky bra and panty set remained, but were soon pulled off by Yoh, who had been given the honor of the next level of torture.  
  
Kiru closed her eyes as she heard Yoh's clothing being taken off and removed herself from what was happening. She thought of Hiei as she felt him start to force himself into her.  
  
I'm sorry.Hiei.  
  
--  
  
Hiei jarred awake from his restless sleep. He sensed his lover was in pain.  
  
Kiru.  
  
He felt really bad. He knew she was being tortured, and he was helpless to stop it for the moment. They had left as soon as the report had come in, but they still wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.  
  
Oh, he had wanted to continue, but they had told him that he would do no good if he fell asleep during the battle they all knew was coming. He decided he would probably do better sleeping in a tree far away from the rest of the group.  
  
He got up and rolled up the sleeping bag Kurama had insisted he bring, he knew that he would wind up sleeping in a tree, which had always, for whatever reason, comforted him even more than a bed did. He started to walk towards the outskirts of the camp, deciding to tell Yusuke, who was on watch, that he would take over for the rest of the night from a tree.  
  
'Oniisan?' he turned around at the soft voice of his sister, 'Where are you going?' She obviously couldn't sleep either. She had put a small kettle to boil over the fire, and he figured it was probably for some chamomile tea to put her to sleep.  
  
'I'm going to tell Yusuke that I'll take over the rest of his shift and mine,' Hiei shrugs, 'can't sleep anyway.'  
  
Yukina steps forward and touches his arm, 'You can feel her, can't you?'  
  
Hiei nods, looking up at the sky, 'Those bastards are hurting her.' He clenches his fists. 'And I can't do anything about it!' Besides, it's all my fault.  
  
'Oniisan,' Yukina chided, easily reading his thoughts, 'it wasn't your fault.' She drags him over to the fire, getting out two cups for the calming tea. 'And besides, you need your rest if you are going to save Kiru- chan tomorrow, ne?' She smiles and hands him a cup.  
  
He smiles back gratefully and takes the cup. 'You're right Yukina-chan,' he takes a sip of the tea, 'Those youkai are going to regret taking Kiru from me.' His bandaged arm smokes slightly as the dragon agrees with its master. 'Even the dragon agrees with me.'  
  
'Onii-chan,' Yukina asks, watching as the tea is starting to make Hiei drowsy, 'what is your dragon's name?' She knew that the dragon had grown to love and respect its master over time, and that they shared a special bond, but she never heard Hiei call it by a name.  
  
'A name?' Hiei shook his head, 'It really doesn't have one.' He pauses for a moment, 'Why don't you name it?'  
  
'Really?'  
  
'Hn.'  
  
'Umm.' Yukina says, 'how about.Black?' She claps her hands together. 'Because he's black!'  
  
'Sounds good, imouto-chan.' Hiei yawns, stretching, 'G'night, Yuki.' He jumps into a nearby tree.  
  
'Goodnight, Oniisan, Goodnight.'  
  
Yukina walked over to her own sleeping bag and lay down. She hoped that Kiru-chan would be okay. She knew that Hiei had lost a lot over the years and really didn't want him to lose anymore.  
  
She knew all she could really do was heal and support her brother, but she hoped that what little she could do, helped him.  
  
Oh, Oniisan. I hope everything turns out alright.  
  
--  
  
Hiei: (holding a sniffling me) Now now. I'm sorry.  
  
Me: Okay. Well, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Please review.  
  
Hiei: And don't forget to force your friends to read and review too!l  
  
Me: (Yawn) I'm gonna take a nap. All this genius is tiring. Goodnight, Hiei.  
  
Hiei: Good night, tune in soon for more.  
  
Both: JA! 


	6. Chapter 6: A Surprising Twist

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Hiei: Oh hello. Give me a minute. (sticks head into a door that appeared out of nowhere) Kiru! They're here.  
  
Me: (rumpled from sleep) Hn? (looks at you) Ahh! (door closes and rustling is heard) K'so! (door opens revealing a normal me) Hi.  
  
Hiei: Ready? (hands her an envelope)  
  
Me: Yeah. (opens it) Last chapter.( skims letter) Hey! This is YOUR job! (gives him the paper and mumbles) Waking me up. I need coffee. (angry mark)  
  
Hiei: (Chuckling) Gomen, chibi-chan. Last chapter, those bastard youkai- Ryudo, Yoh, and Taki- started to torture poor Kiru. I really must kill Yoh because he raped her. (fizzles) MUST-KILL- HIM. (regains control) I felt her being tortured and obviously couldn't sleep. I was going to take over the watch from a tree, but Yukina stopped me and made me drink some chamomile tea. Then she decided that my dragon needed a name and named it Black. Soon I went to sleep and Yukina worried then also went to sleep.  
  
Me: (holding coffee cup, takes a sip) Ahh.coffee. (looks at you) Enjoy and Review. Standard disclaimers.(looks at Hiei) Now let's discuss that little shrugging of your duties.  
  
--  
  
'There it is.'  
  
Mukuro looked up from her map and said it again, 'That's it.'  
  
Hiei shuffled and pushed down his growing anger. He couldn't sense her youki and guessed she was suppressing it. Not that that made him feel any better. He glanced towards the small compound.  
  
It basically consisted of a central stone building. He guessed that it had a dungeon and that that was where Kiru was. His fist started to smoke.  
  
Yusuke watched from nearby. He saw Hiei's eyes flicker with a multitude of emotions-from anger to sadness to, surprisingly, lack of control. Hiei was one of those people who could normally keep himself under control no matter what the circumstance. He took a couple steps back as he watched Hiei's bandaged arm start to smoke lightly.  
  
Hiei regained some semblance of control, figuring that being crazy wouldn't help at all. Black, I know how you feel, but we really need to stay calm. Although it would make us feel better, raging around won't help.  
  
Damn. Black responded.  
  
Hiei chuckled, gaining a few concerned looks from his companions. He turned around and sweat dropped. 'Sorry,' he quickly explained, 'Black was being funny.'  
  
'Black?' Mukuro asked, 'Who is that?'  
  
Hiei gestured towards his arm, 'The Dragon.'  
  
'Since when does it have a name?' Yusuke asked.  
  
'Since last night,' Yukina answered, 'Hiei let me name him.' She smiled.  
  
'Oh, Yukina-san!' Kuwabara says, coming forward and grabbing her hands, 'That is a lovely name!' Hiei started to glare daggers. He walked forward and tapped Kuwabara on the shoulder.  
  
'What are you doing?' Hiei's fist was smoking even more now.  
  
Kuwabara blanched, 'N-n-nothing!!!' He ran to stand near Mukuro.  
  
'I thought so.'  
  
Everyone (except the Idiot of course) started to laugh.  
  
Suddenly Hiei stopped. Kiru's youki was rising in a summoning rate. A wave of cold panic rushed over him. She won't have enough energy.  
  
'Kiru.' he whispered. He just knew that something was very wrong. He turned towards the compound and took off at lightning speed, leaving the others to rush and catch up.  
  
--  
  
Kiru fought back another scream as the hot knife ran over her arm again.  
  
After their previous efforts had failed to bring so much as a squeak from her, they had turned to Ryudo's favorite 'game' - Turkish torture.  
  
Her mind was filled with the urge to scream or faint or do something, anything, to make the pain stop. But she knew that if she fainted, they would just dump a bucket of ice water over her to bring her around.  
  
She sighed as she endured yet another slash. At least I got some clothes back. She was forced to wear a white ceremonial dress. She knew that it was the same one from last time, but at least it had been washed. On the downside, she also knew that whenever she wore that dress, she would be getting this punishment.  
  
She hoped that Hiei was far away from here, she had done her best to keep her energy masked in the hopes that he wouldn't be able to find her, but she really doubted that she could hide for long.  
  
'Sir,' a servant entered the room and halted the punishment for a blessed minute.  
  
'What is it?' Ryudo asked, peeved at the interruption. He put his knife down on the table next to her.  
  
'We have just confirmed the approach of the Reikai Tantei,' the servant youkai said, 'Also with them is one of the Makai lords, Mukuro.'  
  
Shit. Now she knew what she had to do, she couldn't let them come here and get hurt. She gathered all of her youki, disabling the wards. Ryudo turned as she felt her youki rising. She got up and looked him straight in the eyes, opening her jagan. He blanched.  
  
'Now, you have gone too far,' Kiru says, surrounding herself in Makai fire, 'I cannot allow this to continue.' She moves into a summoning stance, using all of her remaining youki to summon her phoenix. Ryudo scrambles to the door, which she quickly closes via telekinesis. Seeing his escape is impossible, he grabs his knife from the table.  
  
'I know that I am going to die,' he says, threateningly, 'but I'm not going alone.'  
  
Kiru looks down, her hair covering her eyes, 'I know,' she smiles. She looks up and Ryudo pales further as he watches the outline of the phoenix surround her.  
  
The phoenix is a great, majestic creature of black and purple flames, similar colors to Hiei's dragon. It's eyes burn with an unholy light, sending chills down Ryudo's spine. It has long, shimmering tail feathers that are tipped in a black spurts of flame. It raises its head and releases a cry of anger at its master's treatment, staring straight at Ryudo.  
  
Kiru smiles she sets her target. Ryudo shakes in fear.  
  
'Sayonara,' she sneers, 'Ryudo.'  
  
--  
  
Me: CLIFFHANGERS, ANYONE!?  
  
Hiei: You just love being evil, don't you?  
  
Me: Yes, besides, I just woke up! I'm always cranky!  
  
Hiei: But you don't need to torture everyone!  
  
Me: Yes, I do.  
  
Hiei: Okay.Please forgive her crankiness and review.  
  
Me: Ha ha ha! I am evil morning chicken!  
  
Hiei: (sweat drop) Evil morning chicken? You need more coffee. Now. (drags her to the kitchen)  
  
Me: I AM THE QUEEN OF ALL THE MORNING CHICKENS!! BOW TO MY MIGHTY CHICKENNESS!!! BUCK, BUCK, BUCK! 


	7. Chapter 7: Unbidden Memories

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Okay! Now that I have had sufficient amounts of caffeine, I can properly led up to the chapter!  
  
Hiei: I think you broke the coffee maker. (looks at coffee maker that is broken up into dozens of pieces)  
  
Me: Just get one of the others out of the coffee maker closet.  
  
Hiei: Okay. (Goes to a small closet and takes out one of the hundreds of coffee makers in it) All fixed!  
  
Me: Good, now read the stuff. (hands him envelope)  
  
Hiei: (opens it) Last chapter, after a brief moment of humor from Black, the dragon, and the Idiot, a summoning flare in Kiru's energy freaked me out and sent me bolting for the just found compound. Meanwhile, in the compound, Ryudo had gone back to his old methods of Turkish torture. Then he got the news of our approach. Kiru, knowing that he had something horrible planned for them, gathered up all of her youki to launch a phoenix at him, knowing full well that she might not survive. (looks up at me) I will get to kill someone, right?  
  
Me: You'll see.  
  
Hiei: I hate waiting.  
  
Me: Too bad. By the way, standard disclaimers, except on Kiru, Ryudo, Yoh, Taki, and the name 'Black,' who are all my creations. Also the Phoenix of the Darkness Flame is a move of my imagination.  
  
--  
  
Hiei ran at the limits of his impressive speed, racing towards the compound. Cold sweat covered him as he felt Kiru's youki rise to meet the challenge of the Phoenix of Darkness Flame.  
  
He knew that she wouldn't have enough youki to survive that summoning.  
  
He ran faster as he remembered the last time she had summoned it.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
'K'so!' Kiru says, clutching her cloak around her, 'It's cold! Why are we here, sensei?'  
  
They were in the middle of a barren tundra. Snow whipped around them, driven by the cold, riving wind. Due to their natural sensitivity to cold, their sensei had determined that this would be a good place to build up their endurance.  
  
Hiei had thought that their last training session was brutal-they had been taught the basics of summoning the Darkness Flame in a three day long lecture while floating via telekinesis, which wasn't his strong point- but this one took the cake. He doubted that either one of them could survive more than a day or two in these temperatures, let alone one of sensei's crazy, week-long training missions.  
  
'Quit complaining,' the sensei said, 'we aren't leaving until you have mastered youki-homeostasis.' At Kiru and Hiei's blank stares, sensei elaborated, 'How to keep yourselves at proper temperatures no matter your environment by using youki. Now then, burn off enough youki to get yourselves up to a comfortable temperature.'  
  
'What does this have to do with endurance?' Hiei asked, easily warming up to the point where he almost didn't need his cloak. Kiru tilted her head in question, also lost on what this had to do with endurance training, but pacified due to the fact that she was warm.  
  
'Now then, I will return next week for you,' the two pupils blanched, 'Your mission is to stay alive until then.' Ignoring their protests, sensei walked off. 'By the way, I surrounded the area with wards, so don't try to escape unless if you want to get shocked.'  
  
So they had burned their youki for days and days, doing little more than talking for fear that they would exhaust their energy supplies.  
  
Not that Hiei had had a problem with that talking. He had learned a lot about her during that time- not that that made her any less of an enigma though. In fact, that week had been the one that had made him realize that he loved her.  
  
They took turns sleeping and keeping watch, knowing they were vulnerable to attack, should someone approach. Everything had gone fine- until the day before sensei was due to pick them up.  
  
They were attacked by a small group of ice demons, who were pissed at the presence of the two young fire demons on their territory. Hiei hadn't liked the odds- it was two to nine.  
  
'Hiei!' Kiru called as he was frozen to the ground by one of the attacks. He growled at the demon who had attacked him and thrown his katana at it, efficiently killing it and another who was standing nearby the first.  
  
'Two down!' Hiei called, still frozen to the ground, 'Better go to defensive while we think of a way to do this!' Kiru nodded and turned her attention back to defending herself and her soon-to-be lover.  
  
She dodged an icicle arrow, trying to think of a way to get them out of this sticky situation. Damn it! There has got to be a way to do this! She reviewed her barrage of techniques. Sensei must have taught us something!!! Think, Kiru, think!!!  
  
She received her drastic idea when she was caught on the shoulder by an energy blast from one of the demons. Wait! That's it! Energy! This better work!  
  
Holding her wounded shoulder, she summoned up her remaining youki and called upon the Darkness Flame. She launched a small phoenix on the demons, instantly melting all the ice in the area, including the ice trapping Hiei to the ground.  
  
Hiei was paralyzed with shock. He stared at Kiru through the steam, watching in horror as she swayed and started to fall. He raced to her, catching her before she hit the ground, turned her over and stared into her pale face. Please, be all right!!  
  
She was unconscious. He quickly searched for her ki signature and panicked when he felt only a small flicker, barely enough to support basic function. The temperature had risen due to the attack, but was quickly falling, and Hiei knew that if he didn't do some quick thinking, Kiru would freeze to death.  
  
He quickly grabbed the bandages that were in her backpack and bound up her shoulder with some of sensei's healing herbal mixture. He grabbed their sleeping bags and put her on top of one, covering her with both sets of sheets, and lit a fire with his youki and the brush from some dead bushed that had been uncovered by her attack. Able to do nothing more, he simply sat next to her on the other sleeping bag and held her hand, praying that she would survive.  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
Hiei shook his head, remembering how they had barely survived. Their sensei had come early out of concern from the sudden flare of youki that had accompanied the summoning, and had been shocked at the scene. They had carried her back and Sensei had immediately treated her shoulder wound, and left to ponder ways to revive Kiru from her sleep.  
  
Sensei had doubted her chances for survival. Kiru had stayed unconscious for a week and a half after, and had had fainting spells for a month after that. At both sensei and Hiei's insistence, Kiru wasn't allowed to do anything but rest and relax for that month.  
  
Hiei had been a nut case during that month, refusing to leave her side when she was unconscious, and had made sure she didn't overexert herself, bringing her meals to her and forbidding her to leave her bed or her chair, unless if it was absolutely necessary.  
  
Kiru had finally gotten tired of it and yelled at them both to stop or else she would do it again.  
  
Needless to say, they had stopped, knowing her threats were always serious. After that, it had become lost in a fold of time and life had resumed as usual, but they had never returned to that tundra ever again.  
  
Hiei quickly dispatched a few demons that were blocking his path, the first guard. Since he was, for a lack of a better word, angry, it took little more than a minute. He continued on, praying that he would get there in time.  
  
--  
  
Me: No Kiru this chapter folks! So sorry to any of you who are Kiru fans!  
  
Hiei: There better not be. And if there are, they should take those youkai in the chapter as examples for what happens when you mess with my lover. (Fingers his katana with a smoking fist)  
  
Me: Oh calm down, I'm sure no one likes her! Or else they would have said, 'Gee, I like Kiru!' in their reviews! Not that I get any anymore though.  
  
Hiei: (Looking chibi) Gomen, koi.  
  
Me: (grumbling) Hmph! 


	8. Chapter 8: Arrival

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
A part of the Relation series  
  
Me: Yay! I got some more reviews!  
  
Hiei: Yes, after about three weeks.  
  
Me: (hits him over head with sauce pan) Shut up, fire boy! Some of that last set of reviews was really nice.  
  
Hiei: Ow.  
  
Me: Suck it up! Read the stuff!  
  
Hiei: Yes, dear. (takes envelope from nearby table) Last chapter was basically a backgroud chapter. It went into the first time Kiru used the phoenix, which was just after she learned the basic mechanics. Needless to say, she almost died in the process. After recalling those disturbing memories, I encountered the first of the defense forces of that compound. Who are now little more than a small pile of ashes. I hurried on, hoping I would be in time to save Kiru.  
  
Me: Standard disclaimers on everything that isn't mine (see last chapter for my stuff).  
  
--  
  
Yusuke and the others hurried to try and catch up to their panicked friend. They encountered a few piles of ashes and assumed that Hiei wasn't in a mood to be messed with.  
  
Kuwabara looked around, trying to spot his overprotective friend. His eyes landed on the pile of ashes that had once been a youkai and was glad that Hiei knew his sister loved him, or else he would have matched that youkai right now.  
  
Yukina, who had been looking around for signs of anything that could lead to her missing brother, caught a glimpse of black in the middle of a large group of youkai. 'Oniisan!!' she turned towards her friends, gesturing towards the fight, 'Hiei is over there! We have to help him!!'  
  
The others, seeing the same when they looked, immediately ran towards the fight-in-progress. But by the time they got there, they saw that the last thing Hiei needed was their help. With little more than an annoyed growl and a swing of his arm, the whole lot of youkai was reduced to a smoldering heap in little over a few minutes.  
  
'Hiei! Matte!' Hiei, who was about to run off again, turned to face the source of the call. Everyone took a step back at the feral look in his eyes. But after a few seconds, he calmed enough to the point where Kurama actually dared to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
Hiei sighed, and quickly filled the others in on the situation with Kiru. 'We need to hurry!!!'  
  
Yusuke nodded, and they all turned towards the complex, only to be greeted with a veritable army of guards.  
  
'K'so!' Hiei growled, 'I don't have time for this!!!'  
  
'Hiei!' Kurama called, taking out his whip, 'We'll take care of them, you take Yukina and get back Kiru.'  
  
'Yeah,' Yusuke agreed, readying his trigger finger, 'we'll clear you a path and you get in there!'  
  
Hiei nodded and smiled in gratitude, 'Thanks, guys.'  
  
Yusuke nodded back, and fired his spirit gun. It plowed through a large area of the youkai, 'Hiei, go!!!' Hiei scooped Yukina into his arms and sped off into the clearing while the others continued to wipe out the guards.  
  
The two ran into the gate, where Hiei put her down. Yukina looked around, surprised at the absence of guards.  
  
'Oniisan,' she asked, looking at her brother, 'why are there no guards?'  
  
Hiei looked around, 'I don't know, and, truthfully, don't care.' He closed his eyes and searched for his wife's energy. Where are you, koi? He finally found her ki signature in the room down the hallway to their right. 'Over there, she's down that hall.'  
  
Yukina nodded and followed her brother to the closed door. 'You wait here, Yukina-chan. I don't want to risk you getting hurt, too.'  
  
Yukina protested, 'But what if she's hurt?' Yukina knew that she would be getting nowhere by asking, her brother was as stubborn as a rock. She finally relented to his will and stepped back, 'Be careful, onii-chan.'  
  
'I'll try, imouto-chan,' Hiei answered, 'I'll try.' He drew his katana and faced the door, steeling himself to what he would see. He took a deep breath and opened the door.  
  
--  
  
Me: Hai, no more for you.  
  
Hiei: Can't you, just once, NOT end with a cliff hanger?  
  
Me: No, cause then they wouldn't read, baka!  
  
Hiei: Oh yeah. That's why you write the fanfics, right?  
  
Me: Yep. (turns to you) Review if you want more. Hai, I will write more anyway, but I want reviews!!!  
  
Hiei: (chibi eyes) Pleeeeaaase review!!!! Pleeeeaaase!!!! 


	9. Chapter 9: The Weapon

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Ahhh. once more, another story draws closer to the end.  
  
Hiei: Seems like yesterday that we were just starting Friends.  
  
Me: Well that's the way the cookie crumbles.  
  
Hiei: Cookie?! Where?!!!! I want cookie!!!! (runs off in search of nonexistent cookie)  
  
Me: (watching, shaking head) He just doesn't understand the term 'It's an expression.'  
  
Hiei: (in the distance) COOKIE!!!  
  
Me: (taking out an envelope) I guess I have to read this. Last chapter, the group caught up with Hiei, who filled them in. Just as they were about to head towards the entrance of the compound, a large group of youkai emerged to block their path. Yusuke and Kurama, along with the rest of the good guys, cleared a path for Hiei and Yukina, who insisted to be allowed to come in order to heal if the need arose. Because I am evil, it ended with Hiei opening the door of the room where he sensed Kiru's energy signature.  
  
Hiei: (running still) COOKIE!!! (falls down) Owwww. (comes back to me) No cookie.  
  
Me: (hands him a cookie) Here you go!  
  
Hiei: Yay! (eats cookie) Arigato!!  
  
Me: Standard disclaimers apply on all but my creations (see chapter 7 for details.) Enjoy!  
  
--  
  
Hiei opened the heavy metal door, assessing the situation in a split second. He saw, with some relief that Kiru hadn't released her energy yet, but was indeed summoning the phoenix. I made it.But she looked alarmingly drained, panting heavily from overexertion.  
  
Ryudo was cowering in the nearby corner, a small dagger his only defense. He was shaking like a leaf. Coward. Hiei redoubled his vow to painfully kill him. He quickly noted the dreary state of the cell, and tripled his vow.  
  
'Kiru!'  
  
She started slightly and her concentration broke, the Makai flames dying instantly. She turned an exhausted gaze towards him, 'Hiei?' Her voice was little more than a soft whisper. She wore a white shift, or what he thought was a white shift. He couldn't really tell because it was so stained with her blood. Her arms were marked with fresh burns, and what flesh he could see was slashed and bruised. Her usually bright ruby eyes were dark and haunted. Her lips were tinged blue, and she was shivering slightly- probably due to the fact that she was wet. He noticed the empty bucket earlier.  
  
He ran towards her, disregarding the youkai in the corner, wrapped her in his cloak, and took her battered form into his embrace. 'Kiru. I'm here now.' He drew back to look into her face, a wave of tenderness enveloping him, relief dampening the rage that had flooded his body.  
  
But her face was panicked. 'No!' she said, surprisingly strong, 'You have to run!' Her eyes were those of a cornered cat, feral and fearful at the same time. But that fear was for him, not for what would happen to her.  
  
'Kiru, what.' he was confused at her words. What was there to run from? That worm of a youkai couldn't possibly be strong enough to withstand his dragon, especially not when he was mad. All he wanted to do right now was get her out of here. His revenge could be left for later. 'Just relax, everything will be fine.'  
  
She shook her head, fisting her hands in his shirt and looking straight into his eyes, 'You don't understand! I won't let them do it to you, too!'  
  
--  
  
'Shotgun!'  
  
As Yusuke dispatched the last of the army of youkai that had charged them, Kurama and the rest started towards the entrance they had seen Hiei go into earlier. Everyone was worried, they could all feel Kiru's ki was weak, but took some solace in the fact that Hiei's ki was right next to her's.  
  
They ran into the compound, noting the many doors. Mukuro saw Yukina standing in front of a door down the hallway to the right.  
  
'Yukina!' Mukuro called.  
  
The ice maiden turned towards them, her ruby eyes worried. 'Yusuke-san! Kuwabara-kun!'  
  
'Where's Hiei?' Kurama asked her, curious as to why Hiei left his beloved sister alone in an unfamiliar territory.  
  
'He went into this room, but as soon as he was in, the door closed, and I can't get it open.'  
  
Yusuke turned to the door, and tried to open it. 'Jeeze,' he said, pulling at the handle, 'It's stuck!'  
  
They all tried to open it, using everything from brute force to 'Open Sesame!' Nothing worked. Yukina started to cry, and Yusuke started to curse. Kurama was worried that there was more to this than originally thought.  
  
He just hoped that everything would turn out okay.  
  
--  
  
Yoh and Taki ran towards the back entrance to Kiru's torture chamber. They had been playing cards when a level five warning had sounded, accompanied by a rising of youki from their plaything. They knew that their boss, Ryudo, was still in the torture chamber.  
  
They also knew that she would never allow them to accomplish their goal without a fight. She had been hard enough to contain all those years ago, who knew how much stronger she was now. They would have preferred to just kill her, but they needed her for bait. And the extra income that could be brought from her bloodstones didn't hurt either.  
  
They opened the door to find Ryudo in the corner, still shell-shocked. They ran over to him to try and shake him out of his stupor. After about five minutes, they finally got out him into a state where he could do what he needed.  
  
Ryudo looked up and saw Kiru being embraced by her lover. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. Kiru was too weak to do anything to help him- her ki signature was barely recognizable- and he was lost on why his koi was so panicked. Fool, you'll soon find out.  
  
Ryudo smiled and took the dagger from its special resting place in its case. It was his pride and joy, his most devastating weapon. It was a beautiful thing, a wonderfully sculpted, beautiful creation of black silver, a rare Makai metal, with etchings of ancient chants in the old language of the demons. The hilt was made with the bark of a death tree, and the grip had leather from a dragon's hide. But the danger lay in the spirit that was trapped in the dagger itself.  
  
That Forbidden Child will never know what hit him.  
  
--  
  
Me: Hey look! Another cliffhanger!  
  
Hiei: Oh joy. (eats another cookie)  
  
Me: Shut up. Now be a good boy and tell them to review so I can make more cookies.  
  
Hiei: Cookies! (looks chibi) Please review so I can have more cookies!!!! 


	10. Chapter 10: Synchronized Attack

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
A part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Ahhg! I hate homework! Especially around midterms!!!! Stupid Algebra II!!!  
  
Hiei: Man, am I glad I don't have to go to that stupid ningen school!  
  
Me: Shut it and read! (Hands him envelope)  
  
Hiei: Yes, dear. Last chapter, I finally met up with Kiru, who was alarmingly tattered and weak. I saw the bastard in the corner, being a coward, and went to Kiru. She freaked out and started to babble about running away, except she said it like it wasn't just babble. The rest of the team reunited in the hall, where the door had closed and locked. Then, the henchmen, Taki and Yoh, walked in and shook Ryudo out of his stupor. Ryudo proceeded to take out a dagger and say I'll never know what hit me.  
  
Me: Same disclaimers as last time. Really, as if any of us owned the shows, then why would we write here, and not make episodes of it? *sigh*  
  
Hiei: Enjoy!!!  
  
--  
  
'Taki, Yoh,' Ryudo said, a malevolent grin on his face, 'You know what to do.'  
  
'Yes, sir!' The two started to prepare for the attack they had practiced thousands of times in the past. Taki moved into an offensive stance and built up his youki.  
  
Hiei looked up at the sound of water. He saw that one of the other youkai had started to prepare for a battle. His rage was renewed once more as he recognized him as one of the demons in Kiru's memory.  
  
'His name is Taki, a water youkai,' Kiru told him, 'He's just an A class, I can handle it! Now run!!' She was still panicked about his presence, but Hiei was just ignoring her warnings. She hoped she could find a way to save him. She was running out of time, she noted, seeing that Ryudo had drawn his dagger. They were preparing their synchronized attack, one that she had suffered through many times in the past. Hiei didn't understand how horrible the effects of that attack were, and he just wouldn't listen to logic! Stubborn fool that he was, she would have to find a way around that big head of his to protect him from a fate she considered to be worse than death.  
  
'Hiei is your name, correct?' Taki asked of him, a waterball in his hand.  
  
'Yes, but it makes no difference to you since you are about to die,' Hiei returned, moving Kiru behind him and drawing his katana. Cocky as ever he smirked and told Kiru, 'This won't take long.'  
  
Taki laughed, 'I seriously doubt that I'm going to be the one dying today, but you are right on one count- this won't take long. Yoh!'  
  
At Taki's order, Yoh launched a spirit shield around both himself and Hiei. 'This shield,' Yoh explained, 'makes us resistant to almost all attacks. Only Upper-S class attacks can reach us.'  
  
'How unfortunate for you then,' Hiei said, focusing his youki, 'Since I far surpass the S class.'  
  
Yoh laughed, 'We'll see, Hiei, we'll see.' With that, the battle launched. Hiei and Taki battled it out, while Yoh maintained the shield. This left Ryudo and Kiru unguarded.  
  
Kiru warily watched Ryudo. He had his dagger out and she knew what his plan was. It'll never work, Daddy.  
  
Heh. Says you. It worked last time, didn't it?  
  
Yes, but now I know. I won't allow you to hurt him.  
  
Heh. We'll see.  
  
The two fighters now glared at each other from opposite sides of the room. Hiei obviously had the upper hand in his battle, and Taki was showing signs of exhaustion. He just couldn't keep up with the devastating speed and power that Hiei displayed. But Kiru knew all wasn't as it appeared.  
  
Time's running out dear.  
  
Shut it!  
  
As you wish, dearest.  
  
Taki flew across the room, knocking into the wall with a thud. He growled at Hiei, clutching at his bleeding shoulder. He was covered in slashes and bruises, and panting heavily from overexertion. 'Bastard!'  
  
Hiei laughed.  
  
'You'll get yours! Just wait and see!' Taki screeched as he charged Hiei.  
  
Hiei easily dodged and countered with a fireball. It hit Taki in his already wounded left shoulder. Taki cried out and fell to his knees. Hiei walked up to him.  
  
'Give me one good reason not to kill you,' he said, lifting his katana.  
  
Taki laughed and coughed up blood. 'How about this? YOH! Now!!!'  
  
'No!' Kiru cried, but it was too late.  
  
Yoh had finished his chant. The shields had been a simple disguise behind the true nature of his chant. It was a paralysis spell.  
  
Hiei, realizing that he couldn't move his limbs, growled and bared his fangs at the now hysterically laughing Taki. 'K'so.' He tried to open his Jagan. Damn it!  
  
Kiru started towards him, knowing she needed to prevent him from being hit by that dagger at all costs.  
  
'Kiru, stay back!' Hiei called, sensing her energy approaching. At the rate that she was burning her youki, she would collapse within a few minutes. He had to find a way to escape this blasted spell before then.  
  
'Restrain her!' Ryudo ordered, not wanting to allow her to interfere with his master plans.  
  
'Oh no you don't!' Kiru called, now surrounded by Makai fires. She had never dismissed the phoenix, and was now calling on its power. She burned up Taki and Yoh in a single flare of power, decimating them into a pile of gray ashes with little more than a flick of her finger. She turned her gaze towards Ryudo, her eyes glowing with the ethereal light of the phoenix.  
  
Ryudo simply laughed and moved his dagger so it gleamed in the light streaming in from the ceiling. He aimed towards the paralyzed fire demon.  
  
'Don't you dare!' she threatened, lifting her hand, 'I'll melt it before it gets within ten feet of Hiei!'  
  
Hiei felt cold sweat gather on his forehead. He could sense something bad was coming and cursed himself for being powerless to stop it. He concentrated his youki on breaking the spell, hoping he was quick enough to stop her.  
  
Ryudo laughed, 'You wouldn't dare. You could no more damage this dagger than you could your lover, there, now could you?'  
  
He could sense a change in her energy then. It seemed.hesitant? She's conflicted!? About what!!!?  
  
Kiru lowered her arm to her side and bowed her head. 'Good girl, now watch as I make your life a living hell!!!' He threw the dagger towards Hiei.  
  
--  
  
Me: I wonder, I really do, if I could ever end without a cliffhanger. Oh well! (Hiei falls over)  
  
Hiei: Sometimes I wonder why you aren't in a crazy house.  
  
Me: Because they haven't caught me yet! (Hiei falls over again)  
  
Hiei: Kami-sama, what have I gotten myself into this time?  
  
Me: Ja until next time!!!! 


	11. Chapter 11: Destruction

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: When will this story end.  
  
Hiei: You want it to?  
  
Me: Yes, I have an idea all set for the next one!  
  
Hiei: (sweat drop)  
  
Me: Oh pooh! Just read the stuff! (hands him envelope)  
  
Hiei: Last chapter, after reuniting with Kiru, the full squad of torturers came to put their final plan into action. Taki and Yoh, Ryudo's assistants, led the attack, eventually revealing it to be only a distraction from Yoh's paralysis spell. I was paralyzed, and therefore, helpless. Kiru knew what was happening but was somehow confused, and Ryudo used that to his advantage, and threw his dagger at me.  
  
Me: Please enjoy!  
  
--  
  
'No!'  
  
A blast of Makai fire came out of nowhere, melting the dagger in a millisecond. Hiei shifted his gaze to Kiru, who was now swaying on her feet, drained to exhaustion. He started work on the last of the curse that was paralyzing him. K'so! Must break the curse!  
  
'You bitch!' Ryudo cried, 'You've ruined everything!' He sent an energy blast at the exhausted Kiru, who could do nothing but watch as it approached her. It slammed her against the wall, wrenching a soft cry from her lips. She slid limply to the floor, then looked up with a wince, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.  
  
Hiei watched in horror as she slid to the floor. Through his now open Jagan, he could see that many of the bones in her fragile body were shattered. A fractured rib belied the cause of the trickle of blood from her mouth- it had punctured one of her lungs. He knew that she had to be in unimaginable pain and cursed the thin bond that still held him immobile. Her energy level was so low, he doubted she could stand another hit. He had to get free before she was killed!!  
  
She coughed, wiping her hand across her mouth before sending a weak, but triumphant smile at Ryudo. 'I won.'  
  
Ryudo roared in anger and formed another energy ball, 'All you've won is an early grave!!! Die, bitch!' His rage was blinding, filling his vision with red. She had ruined everything. His plans, his family, his team! She would pay!  
  
Kiru watched as Ryudo built up what could well be her deathblow. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of screaming. She was already being called by the darkness, a place free from the pain that ripped through her body with every beat of her heart.  
  
As she watched him release the huge energy bomb, she chuckled.  
  
Maybe death will be a more merciful fate than suffering under what is to come.  
  
--  
  
Me: Okay, no more for now since I have to return to my studying for my English midterm! More soon I promise!  
  
Hiei: Please review!!!  
  
Me: Ja Ne! 


	12. Chapter 12: Anger

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Ahh. finally, I have time to write more.  
  
Hiei: Time?  
  
Me: You know that I had midterms this week.  
  
Hiei: Oh yeah.  
  
Me: Sorry about the delay, but here's the long awaited chapter 12.  
  
Hiei: (producing the envelope out of thin air) Last chapter, Kiru destroyed the dagger to protect me, which pissed off Ryudo. He was so mad, that he attacked her with a full out energy blast. I was still paralyzed, and could do nothing but watch as she was thrown against the wall. She was seriously wounded, but still managed to find the strength to taunt Ryudo into building another attack. It ended with Kiru making a cryptic remark while she prepared to face her death.  
  
Me: Standard disclaimers on everything but Kiru, Ryudo, and the effects of the dagger revealed later.  
  
Hiei: Please enjoy and review.  
  
--  
  
Yusuke, Yukina, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Mukuro sat in the stone hall of the compound, racking their brains to find a way to open up the door, which seemed to be glued to the wall with a ki-lock.  
  
Yusuke glared at the door, trying to mock Hiei's glare, which would certainly open the door with its intensity. It didn't work.  
  
The rest of them had pretty much given up to the fact that they would just have to let Hiei deal with it on his own, and hope that it would all turn out all right. Everyone, except for Yukina, that is.  
  
Yukina had reached the end of her patience. She walked right up to that darn door and pulled on the handle with all her might, 'Open you stupid door!'  
  
It opened.  
  
Everyone, including Yukina herself, stared at the door in disbelief. But their attention was soon stolen away as they laid eyes on the scene in front of them.  
  
--  
  
'Don't you dare release that blast.'  
  
Ryudo turned, seeking the source of this unwanted disturbance to his revenge. He was brought face-to-face with a very, very, very mad fire demon. He visibly blanched as he stared into Hiei's eyes, which burned black with the fire of the dragon coiled around him.  
  
Hiei had lost all control over his anger as he watched Ryudo hurt his love. Black roared in anger as it stared directly at the youkai who had infuriated his master. Hiei glanced over to his lover, and his anger rose as he saw that she had finally collapsed from exhaustion. At least now he didn't have to worry about her burning out her ki.  
  
Not that that improved his mood though. He knew she was tough, and only the most life-threatening wounds could take her down this hard.  
  
His gaze returned to Ryudo who had shrunk back against the opposite wall. His shaking had returned in full-force, and he was curled up as small as he could be, in hopes that maybe he would just disappear. He tentatively looked up into Hiei's gaze, before whimpering and throwing himself to the ground to beg for mercy.  
  
Hiei had had quite enough of him and his cowardice by this point, and strode over. He grabbed the demon's shirt in his fist, and hauled him up to eye level. I'll show you mercy, all right.  
  
'Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now.'  
  
--  
  
Me: Cliffhanger!!!  
  
Hiei: No, really?  
  
Me: Shut it. Don't make me kill her!  
  
Hiei: (big eyes) Okay. I'll be good!  
  
Me: Okay, don't forget to review!!!  
  
Hiei: Ja! 


	13. Chapter 13: Dragon's Bind

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: I swear, my school just wants to keep me from updating.  
  
Hiei: Reports, or labs this time?  
  
Me: Both. Baka ningens!  
  
Hiei: (shrugs) Oh well, at least you are updating now!  
  
Me: (sigh) Just read the damn summary!  
  
Hiei: Okay, (takes out an envelope) last chapter, the rest of the guys finally got the door open, and rushed in to find me ready to kill Ryudo for hurting Kiru, who was unconscious against the wall after being seriously wounded by an attack of Ryudo.  
  
Me: Hey, that really was short.Oh well, it's longer this time!  
  
Hiei: Standard disclaimers apply on all that isn't hers.  
  
--  
  
"Hiei!"  
  
Hiei turned and looked in the direction of the call. He saw that the rest of the group had arrived. Like he cared- all he wanted was to avenge his love.  
  
That coward was crying now, trying to think of a way out of his almost certain death. If only he still had his dagger. That's it!  
  
'Know that if you kill me,' Ryudo said, trying to sound nonchalant despite his rampant fear, 'you destroy her worthless life.'  
  
That got Hiei's attention. He threw him against the wall, 'What do you mean?'  
  
'Remember that dagger she destroyed?'  
  
Hiei glared at him, 'Yeah, so?'  
  
'It was a dragon's bind.'  
  
Hiei's eyes widened and he cursed, 'You son of a bitch!'  
  
'Wait a minute, Hiei, I'm lost,' Yusuke said, looking at his demon friends, who all looked very concerned about this 'dragon's bind' thing, 'What's a dragon's bind?'  
  
'It is a curse, a very bad one,' Kurama explained, 'When the hide of a living dragon is placed on a weapon, it becomes known as a 'dragon's bind.' That hide houses part of the dragon's spirit. Here in the Makai, dragon spirits feed on memories. Once you are cut by a 'dragon's bind,' any memories you had before then are taken away, absorbed as part of the binding, and can be seen by the user of the bind.'  
  
'Which is why Ryudo wanted Hiei to be hit, I presume,' Mukuro said, 'To find out where the Koorime Island is.'  
  
'Yes,' Ryudo said, 'but that bitch interfered and got her just desserts.'  
  
Hiei punched him, 'You shut up, the only reason your alive is to show me where that damn dragon is.' Hiei smiled grimly, 'But once you do, I look forward to killing you slowly and painfully.' Ryudo went back to cowering.  
  
'Why do we need to find the dragon?' Kuwabara asked.  
  
'Another affect of the bind,' Kurama began again, 'is the binding of spirit. Once you are exposed to the bind, you cannot have your memory stolen again, but your spirit is bound to the dragon's. If at any time the hide is destroyed, the spirit begins to travel back to the original dragon.'  
  
'So?' Yusuke questions, 'What's the big deal about that?'  
  
'It feeds on the memories of the victim for the energy it needs to travel.'  
  
--  
  
Me: That's all!  
  
Hiei: Kami-sama, you're evil.  
  
Me: Not really, I'm posting two chapters, it's just that I wanted this one to end here.  
  
Hiei: You really are big on suspense, ne?  
  
Me: Yep, review then on to the next chapter!!! 


	14. Chapter 14: Bad Condition

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Back so soon?  
  
Hiei: Oh, you're so funny.  
  
Me: Urusai! I was just being considerate and putting up two chapters to make up for my lack of updates lately! Unlike some people I know!!!  
  
Hiei: Itai! Itai! Don't be mean!  
  
Me: Hmph! Just read the stupid thing!!!  
  
Hiei: (mutters) Kowai.  
  
Me: You wanna see scary?  
  
Hiei: No!!! (takes out the envelope) Last chapter, it was revealed that the dagger that Kiru destroyed was a 'dragon's bind,' which, in short, will sap away Kiru's memories. Short, sweet and to the point!  
  
Me: Standard disclaimers.  
  
--  
  
'Oh shit.' Yusuke said, 'I'm sorry, Hiei.'  
  
'Is there any way to get her memories back?'  
  
'Yes,' Kurama resumed his explanation, 'If we kill the original dragon, all of her memories, including those sapped from the original attack, will return.'  
  
'Which is why we need this one,' Hiei pointed at Ryudo, 'To tell us which dragon it is from, and where the dragon is.'  
  
'But what if it has moved since then?' Yusuke asked.  
  
'Then we'll track it's youki. We'll find that dragon, no matter how long it takes!' Kuwabara said.  
  
'We don't have the luxury of time,' Hiei replied.  
  
'Huh?'  
  
'The speed at which the spirit travels depends on how many memories the victim has accumulated since the time they were hit. We only have until the point where her memories drain to that time to kill the original dragon.'  
  
'What happens if we don't?'  
  
'She loses all her memories forever,' Hiei looked away.  
  
During this time, Yukina had gone over to Kiru and started to access her condition. She didn't want to heal her here, but wanted to wait and get the expert opinion of Genkai-san as to what was the best way to help her.  
  
Most of her bones had been shattered, one of her lungs was punctured, and she had gashes and bruises everywhere. She wasn't going to tell Hiei, but Yukina could tell that her sister-in-law had also been brutally raped. But that wasn't what bothered her the most.  
  
Yukina turned her gaze towards Kiru's arms, which were now covered with those horrid cauterizations again. She couldn't heal those, nor alleviate the pain caused by them because they were caused by fire. The only thing she could think of was to make a poultice she had heard of long ago that could supposedly heal burns as if they were never there.  
  
It had always pained her to know that Kiru was scarred for life, and this would be the perfect opportunity to do something for her. She made a mental note to investigate that once she got back to the Ningenkai.  
  
She had overheard the conversation they were having about what the dagger was, and had repressed her tears at the admission of the facts from Ryudo. She was a very peaceful person, but right now, she would like nothing better than to see Ryudo suffer a painful death. It was what he deserved for hurting her imouto-chan.  
  
Kiru's breathing hitched and she coughed, shivering slightly. Yukina checked her pulse- it was slowing. Kiru was definitely not doing well.  
  
'Hiei-san!' Yukina called, 'We need to get her out of here!'  
  
Hiei, who had been absorbed in their conversation about the best way to kill that dragon, quickly ran over to her and knelt down next to his lover. He brushed her hair out of her battered face. 'How is she?'  
  
Yukina shook her head, 'Not well, I want to bring her to the temple, I need some of the supplies there to heal her.' She looked at her brother; he looked very sad, and very worried. She knew he could see most of her condition through his Jagan, and was probably blaming himself for her condition.  
  
'Kiru.'  
  
Her eyes fluttered, then opened, the hazy crimson staring at him questioningly, 'Hi-chan.? What happened?' She gasped in pain when she tried to move.  
  
'Shh.' Hiei cooed, gently picking her up, 'Just go to sleep, I'll take care of you.'  
  
'Mmmm.' Kiru closed her eyes, 'Thank you.for saving me, Hi-chan.' Her voice trailed off as she fell asleep, leaning her head against her koi's chest.  
  
Kurama and Mukuro came over. Mukuro gasped as she saw the condition her best friend was in, 'Ru-chan! What have they done to you?'  
  
Kurama shook his head- her breathing was ragged and harsh. 'Yukina, how is she doing?'  
  
Yukina checked her pulse again, and sighed, 'She hasn't started to lose her memory yet, but her body is on the verge of giving in. We need to get her to the temple as soon as possible.'  
  
Hiei looked at the battered form of his wife, 'Let's get her there then.'  
  
Kurama charted the nearest portal and they set off as fast as they could go, Yusuke and Kuwabara taking Ryudo to Mukuro's castle for containment and questioning. The rest of them headed towards the Ningenkai, praying that Kiru would be all right.  
  
Kiru-koi, please hold on.  
  
--  
  
Hiei: Why do you have to hurt her EVERY STORY?  
  
Me: What do you want me to do, tell them about your normal day? There has to be some excitement or humor; and I'm not good with humor.  
  
Hiei: What makes you say that?  
  
Me: No one reviews my humor ones.  
  
Hiei: Sorry.  
  
Me: Oh well, that's why I write angst, 'cause I'm good at it.  
  
Hiei: That makes sense.  
  
Me: Hn.Oh, and don't forget to review!!! Bye bye!! 


	15. Chapter 15: Getting Better?

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Hiei: When will this end?  
  
Me: When I'm good and ready for it to end!  
  
Hiei: Fine.  
  
Me: Oh, quit complaining, you're getting paid aren't you?  
  
Hiei: Yeah...  
  
Me: So do your job and read the stuff!  
  
Hiei: Fine. (takes out envelope) Last chapter, more was explained about the 'Dragon's Bind,' and ways to cure the effects. Other than that, we just saw the details of Kiru's condition and left for the Ningenkai to help her. Yusuke and Kuwabara left with Ryudo to confine him in Mukuro's castle for later 'questioning.'  
  
Me: Please enjoy. Standard disclaimers...  
  
--Ningenkai--  
  
Hiei gently placed his lover down onto a soft futon in the middle of the room at the temple. He ran a hand over the side of her face, frowning when he felt the fever burning there. She wasn't doing well, not even with the help she had gotten when Yukina had quickly healed some of her lesser wounds on the way here. He shivered when he remembered how it had been a necessity.  
  
She had stopped breathing.  
  
He had freaked out really bad. Yukina quickly healed her punctured lung and Hiei had given her a ki boost. He had been so relieved when she took a tentative breath on her own and kept breathing after that. But he had doubled his speed in his haste to get her better.  
  
He searched out her ki, and shook his head. It was still too low. He sat down next to her, and held her hand.  
  
Those two had better hurry up!  
  
--Makai--  
  
Yusuke threw the bastard who had hurt his friend's wife into the smallest, most disgusting cell in Mukuro's castle. He threw the door shut and grabbed the wards from the box kept right in front of said cell, activating them on the bars so he couldn't escape.  
  
He and Kuwabara had had a good amount of 'fun' with the bastard before, knocking him out so he would be easier to handle.  
  
Kuwabara had been especially brutal with him. As much as it seemed that they weren't friends, him and the shrimp were brothers-in-law. Well, they would be soon.  
  
He had approached Hiei last month asking for Yukina's hand in marriage, and surprisingly, Hiei had given his approval. But he'd had to listen to a *long* talk about how if he ever hurt her, he would experience a long, painful death.  
  
He had promised to take care of her, and was now engaged to Yukina. They were getting married come spring.  
  
The two gazed at the unconscious youkai in the cell. Nodding to eachother, they rushed to the nearby portal to the Ningenkai, leaving the prisoner guarded by the toughest guards in the castle.  
  
--  
  
Yukina's heart wrenched as she heard Kiru's soft gasp as they took off her ragged gown, redressing her-for the moment- in a loose robe. They had been unable to rouse her from her sleep, and had been forced to kick Kurama and Hiei out. Kurama for the reason that Hiei would kill him for looking at her, and Hiei for the reason that he would only hinder them with all his guilt when he actually saw her.  
  
Genkai was in the corner, preparing that poultice Yukina had remembered while in the Ningenkai. Mukuro was helping Yukina with Kiru, fetching what she needed and comforting Kiru as best she could.  
  
Yukina was concentrating on healing her. Her injuries were so extensive and many, she didn't know where to begin. She repaired bones and muscles, healed bruises and cuts, gashes and slashes, more injuries than she could count.  
  
Finally, two hours later, Kiru was healed, bandaged, and dressed in a loose tunic and pants. She was still sleeping, but Genkai said that she would probably awaken in a few minutes. Since Hiei was practically pacing a hole in the floor of the temple, they figured they should let him in.  
  
Hiei seemed to materialize in the room due to his immeasurable speed. Yukina guessed that he wasn't prepared to see her in all those bandages, since he fell to his knees beside her with a somewhat lost look in his eyes. 'Kiru...' he whispered, running his hand over her face again.  
  
But this time, her eyes fluttered, then opened slowly, revealing the hazy crimson they knew so well. 'Hiei?' she murmured, sitting up with a wince, her arms going around her waist where some bruising remained. She looked up at him, her brow furrowed in confusion, 'What happened?'  
  
'Shh...It's all right,' Hiei lay her back down on the futon, 'Rest.'  
  
She sighed and looked around, 'What are we doing in the Ningenkai? We're supposed to go help Mukuro with Kurama's birthday party today, right?'  
  
'Never mind that, Ru-chan. Just rest,' Hiei said, covering her gently with the sheet. He kissed her gently, watching as she fell asleep, curling up to protect her bruised waist.  
  
Yukina stifled a sob- that party had been planned and celebrated three weeks ago. She looked at Hiei, who was staring out the window. 'Oniisan...I'm so sorry...'  
  
'It's alright, Yukina,' Hiei said quietly, 'There's no time to lose.' He turned and walked towards the door. He stopped and looked back, 'Take care of her for me.'  
  
'Hai.' Yukina watched her brother leave the room to break the news to the rest of the gang. She shook her head and turned back to Kiru. Brushing back a lock of her hair, she tucked her sister-in-law into the blankets.  
  
Kiru-chan, please be okay...  
  
--  
  
Hiei: Well, at least you didn't kill her.  
  
Me: I wouldn't do that.  
  
Hiei: Right...  
  
Me: Why would I want to kill my own character?  
  
Hiei: I don't know.  
  
Me: (sigh) Never mind. Don't forget to review!!!  
  
Hiei: Ja! 


	16. Chapter 16: Losing Memories

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Hiei: Didn't you promise you would be updating often again?  
  
Me: Yes, but my English teacher decided that I should have to be weighted down with a research paper, so I have to do that first.  
  
Hiei: Oh.  
  
Me: Right, 'Oh.' Just read the envelope so we can get on with it.  
  
Hiei: Okay. (opens envelope) Last chapter, we finally got to the Ningenkai to get Kiru healed after a not breathing scare. Yusuke and Kuwabara locked the bastard Ryudo in the torture cell of Mukuro's castle and came to the Ningenkai. Kiru awakened a little while after being healed and it was revealed that the bind had already taken effect and her memory was being sucked away. I left to meet up with the others so we could kill the dragon.  
  
Me: Okay, here you go. Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
--  
  
Hiei smiled as he dragged the heated dagger across Ryudo's chest. He hated knowing that this same technique had been used on his koi, but he had to admit it was a good method of dragging information out of almost anyone.  
  
'Are you going to answer now, or do I have to reheat the blade?' Hiei asked, producing a black flame to back his threat.  
  
Ryudo cried out, 'Okay! I'll tell you, but only if you let me live!!'  
  
'Hn,' Hiei said, 'Do you really think you are in a position to offer me deals?'  
  
'Yes,' he cockily replied, 'without me, you can't save your little slut.'  
  
Hiei growled and shoved the blade through his arm. 'Watch your mouth.'  
  
Ryudo muffled his screams as he fought to stay conscious. He took a moment and considered his options. Maybe if he played the cooperative victim... 'If I agree to tell you, will you at least give me a quick death?'  
  
'Hn...' Hiei considered that for a moment, 'I suppose.'  
  
'All right,' Ryudo sighed unsteadily, 'The dragon I got this from is an ice dragon, on Theta Island.'  
  
'What class is it?' Hiei snapped, 'Describe its ki signiture.'  
  
Ryudo described the cool blast of feeling accompanied by the signature then told Hiei its class level, 'It's a Quest class, so you'll have quite a hard time.'  
  
Hiei smiled his sadistic smile, 'Really now? Considering I *am* the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, I think I'll be just fine...' He pulled the dagger from Ryudo's arm, and, considerate demon that he was, fulfilled Ryudo's request. 'You want a quick death?'  
  
Ryudo paled and stuttered his kidding at that comment, 'No wait!'  
  
'You'll get it when I get back.' He slammed the dagger back into his arm with a vicious twist. 'Until then, you'll have to enjoy this.'  
  
Hiei walked out of the chamber, heading for the nearby gate to retrieve the rest of his team for the journey.  
  
--  
  
It was Kuwabara's turn to sit in on the sleeping Kiru. He was reading a book called Chicken Soup for the Man's Soul, and had been for the past three hours. He turned to page two.  
  
'Wow, this is deep!'  
  
He was so engrossed in the book, (surprising, ne?) that he didn't notice Kiru stirring slightly inside her futon.  
  
Her sleepy crimson eyes peeked out from under the covers, still confused because her energy was going to finishing what healing Yukina couldn't complete, and her senses weren't quite that sharp. She surveyed her surroundings, ever cautious from her experience in the Makai.  
  
Hn...Everything seems okay...But where the hell am I?  
  
She sniffed the air, and recoiled. What the hell is that smell?  
  
She quickly looked around, her eyes lighting on a smelly, baka ningen!  
  
She jumped out of her futon to the farthest corner away from the ningen. She bared her fangs and hissed at the ningen, turning to her demon form. Blue tiger stripes marked her cheeks and her fangs and nails lengthened and sharpened.  
  
'Ahhh!!!' Kuwabara yelled, his book flying out of his hands and hitting Kiru in the arm. She hissed again and surrounded herself with fire, advancing slightly with hackles raised.  
  
Yusuke and Kurama ran in at Kuwabara's screech.  
  
'What the hell is going on in here?' Yusuke asked, baking away slightly.  
  
Kiru sensed them, Another ningen?! And a kitsune! K'so!!! She hissed again, flaring her ki with a slight wince. Damn...I can't keep this up for much longer...  
  
'She doesn't have the ki to be using like that!' Kurama said as he backed away along with Yusuke.  
  
'That still doesn't answer my question!' Yusuke barked as he erected a ki barrier against the encroaching flames.  
  
'She must have forgotten who we are,' Kurama explained, 'Demons don't trust strangers, remember? Especially when they don't know where they are!'  
  
Kiru hissed again, sending a flare of fire towards them. She was panting from exertion by now.  
  
'Shit,' Yusuke said as they were backed into a corner, 'We're trapped!'  
  
Kurama looked worried, 'What do we do now?'  
  
'What can we do?' Yusuke asked, 'If we hurt her, Hiei will kill us, and if we don't, she'll kill us.  
  
Kiru smiled slightly as she realized she was winning, 'Prepare to die, ningens!'  
  
But just as the boys braced themselves for her attack, Hiei jumped into the room via the window. 'Kiru!'  
  
Her ki immediately lowered, 'Hiei?' She was distracted for only a moment, 'Help me kill these ningens!'  
  
'No, they're friends! Really!' Hiei calmly explained to her what had happened and who everyone was.  
  
'...And you destroyed the bind, and have sapped back to here.' Hiei breathed a sigh of relief. He had been imagining the worst ever since he felt her ki flare on his way back to the temple.  
  
Kiru sobered, turning back to human form and apologized immediately, 'Gomen nasai Kurama-san, Yusuke-san.'  
  
'What about me?' Kuwabara wined from around the corner, still too scared to approach her.  
  
'Hn.' Apparently, she doesn't feel him worthy of speaking to. She sat for a moment to collect herself. It wasn't exactly easy to confront several months of forgotten memories all at once.  
  
Hiei had much more in mind though. 'Kiru,' Hiei asked, 'I know you don't want to talk about it, but would you please tell me when you were affected by the bind? I know where the dragon is, but I want to know how much time I have.'  
  
The question caused her to stiffen up. After a few moments of thought, Kiru turned her head, a tear trailing down her face. 'Kurama-san, Yusuke-san, could you please leave?'  
  
'Hai,' they said, getting up and leaving the room, dragging a very scared Kuwabara behind them.  
  
'Kiru?' Hiei asked gently, watching as she walked towards the window.  
  
She turned to look at him, tears falling down her cheeks. 'Hiei...'  
  
Hiei walked over to her and gathered her close into an embrace. She sobbed gently, silently communicating to him via the Jagan.  
  
I'm sorry, I can't! I just can't do it...I-I...  
  
Shhh...I understand, Ru-chan...Want me to just look?  
  
H-hai...  
  
Hiei braced himself to face the brunt of her torture, and opened the door to her mind.  
  
--  
  
Me: That's all!  
  
Hiei: Review and tune in for more soon.  
  
Me: I hope! 


	17. Chapter 17: Fateful Days Past

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Sorry it took so long but here's chapter 17.  
  
Hiei: Just blame it on Mrs. Berzok.  
  
Me: Damn research project.  
  
Hiei: Anywho... (takes out envelope) Last chapter, I found out the whereabouts of the dragon and it's specifics after a nice torture session with the bastard, Ryudo. I returned to the Ningenkai to find Kiru had lost her memory of the rest of the Tantei, and, after calming her and explaining the situation, convinced her to let me search her mind for the time of her infliction with the dragon's bind.  
  
-In Kiru's mind-  
  
Well, this is easier than last time...  
  
Hiei 'walked' right through the opened doors to her first memory. This was the memory of the moments immediately after the knife first slashed her flesh. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the worst...  
  
-Flashback-  
  
~SLAP!~  
  
Kiru slammed against the wall, her hand rising to cup her bruised cheek. She drew her small hand across her mouth, wiping away a trickle of blood.  
  
Hiei watched from both outside and in Kiru's point of view. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old, judging by her development.  
  
'Did you really think that you could escape me?' Ryudo asked, picking her up by the front of her shirt. She winced and scowled at him, spitting on his face.  
  
'Kisama,' her voice sounded different, more childish, 'I'll escape you someday, just wait.'  
  
'Ha!' Ryudo tossed her onto a table, strapping her into it face down. He removed a dagger that Kiru had never seen before from a box lying on the table. It was beautiful, a leather string wrapped around the grip. She had a really bad feeling about this...  
  
Hiei quickly took note of her approximate age. She appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, and didn't have her Jagan yet. Hn, I have 400 years to spend...at her current rate of loss, I have four days...  
  
He was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of cloth ripping. Ryudo had ripped her shirt away, baring her pale back. He wielded the dagger and murmured a few words. Kiru visibly stiffened as if she knew something very wrong was going to happen...  
  
'Ahh!' Kiru's screams filled the room as Ryudo etched a picture of a phoenix into her skin. Hiei felt his heart ripping in two as he watched her crimson blood pour in rivers around her, dripping into a shallow puddle on the floor.  
  
Hiei felt sick as he watched Ryudo cut a shape out of her skin, skimming the knife under it and pulling the flesh off of her back. He waved it in front of her face, laughing as she fought her winces back in favor for a scowl. Tears were falling down her eyes as he finished his fun 'drawing' on her back.  
  
He left the room, doing little more than releasing her from the table by unhooking the straps. As Kiru lay, in extreme pain, she felt dizzy. All of a sudden, a great blackness fell over her, and she felt her youki failing, draining away to a place far, far away.  
  
'What's happening to me...?' she fell unconscious, and knew nothing more for a long time.  
  
-End flashback-  
  
Hiei fought back a cry of anger as he watched her awaken, unknowing of the events just past the next day. Ryudo played the nice guy and bound her wounds, calling himself her father, and saying he loved her, etc...  
  
Bastard...  
  
Hiei left her mind, unable to watch those painful memories anymore. He withdrew from his connection with her to find her asleep.  
  
He smiled sadly at the adorable picture she made. Her dusky lashes fell over her pale cheeks, her lips were slightly parted, and she was snuggled into his side. He pulled away gently, carried her to her bed, and brushed his lips over her face. She sighed and curled up, her hand rubbing her eye for a moment before resting on her pillow. She snuggled into her blankets and slept.  
  
Hiei looked back at her before leaving the room. I'll save you Kiru, I promise.  
  
He joined up with the rest of the team, leaving Kurama and Yukina to watch over his lover, and painful orders to keep her asleep by whatever means necessary in order to prevent any further incidents. He steeled himself from his feelings of rage, and walked through the portal to the Makai.  
  
He made a silent promise to himself as they arrived in Makai, just north of Mukuro's castle. I'll get my vengeance Ryudo, you just wait.  
  
--  
  
Me: Yay, another chapter! Please review!  
  
Hiei: Ja! 


	18. Chapter 18: Travelling

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Hello, and thanks to the demands of the some of our reviewers...I bring you a longer chapter!!!  
  
Hiei: Yah but it took longer.  
  
Me: Well, they asked for longer chapters, so I need more time to make them.  
  
Hiei: You should hurry up.  
  
Me: Shut up! You're not the one who has to come up with ideas!!  
  
Hiei: Itai! Itai! Just forget I ever said that!  
  
Me: Damn straight. Now read the stuff!  
  
Hiei: *grumbling* Fine. *opens the envelope* Last chapter I found out when Kiru was inflicted with the curse of the Dragon's bind, not to mention how long I had until she lost all of her memories forever. Then I left with Yusuke and Kuwabara, leaving Yukina and Kurama with Kiru- who, for her own good, must be kept asleep by any means necessary.  
  
Me: Okay, enjoy chapter 18!!  
  
--  
  
'So exactly where is this dragon anyway?' Yusuke asked as Hiei led them on a path he had never seen before.  
  
Hiei stopped and regarded his companions. 'Let me give you a quick overview of the situation.' He started walking again, 'When Kiru was about sixteen years old, she somehow wound up getting captured by Ryudo. He must have wanted something in her memory, because he cursed her with the Dragon's bind, which saps the victims memory from their birth to the point exactly before they were cursed. Other than that, the only ill effect it would ever have on its victim is that if the bind is ever destroyed, the spirit living in the bind- usually in the skin of the dragon placed somewhere on the sword; granted it can sometimes be from something else but it always is a part of a living creature- will return to it's original place within the dragon, feeding on the memories of the victim. It starts with the most recent memories, and, the speed varies depending on how long has passed, saps to the point where they were cursed.'  
  
'So her memories will always be gone?' Kuwabara asked, looking at his clearly upset friend.  
  
'No,' Hiei vehemently said, 'Thank Kami. If- when- we kill the dragon, all of her memories will be restored, including those from before she was cursed.'  
  
'That's a good thing...right?' Yusuke said.  
  
'Of course it is,' Hiei said, but then raised an eyebrow, 'What do you mean, detective?'  
  
'Well,' Kuwabara cut in, 'What if she doesn't want to remember something from the long gone past?'  
  
That gave Hiei pause. 'I- I'm not sure.'  
  
Yusuke put a hand on his demon friend's shoulder. 'We'll face that when it comes to that. Let's just concentrate on the task at hand.'  
  
Hiei nodded, 'And to answer your question- we're going to Theta Island.'  
  
After about ten minutes of silence, Kuwabara said, 'So...what class is it?'  
  
'Quest.'  
  
'NANI!!!?' Yusuke and Kuwabara yelled in unison at their friend's nonchalant statement.  
  
'It's an ice dragon, Quest class,' Hiei said, raising an eyebrow, 'What's the problem?'  
  
'Uhh...Quest class?!' Yusuke said.  
  
'Oh calm down detective,' Hiei said, 'You should know by now that no one can survive when I'm really angry.'  
  
'What about Yusuke?' Kuwabara said, 'He survived when you were mad at him after you stole that stuff.'  
  
'Pshh!' Hiei dismissed the question, 'I was only upset then.' At their suspicious glares Hiei elaborated, 'When I'm upset, I yell and the like. But when I'm angry, I'm calm.' He turned to them, and raised and eyebrow, 'Care to find out first-hand?'  
  
'N-n-n-no!' Kuwabara said, skittering behind Yusuke, 'We believe you, really!'  
  
'Good,' Hiei said, speeding back up, 'We'll be there in an hour. Get ready.'  
  
--  
  
Hiei looked around for the dragon. This is odd...I could have sworn that I sensed its energy...  
  
Meanwhile, Yusuke and Kuwabara were walking on a big rock that felt kind of squishy beneath their feet. All of a sudden Kuwabara slipped on the snow covering the rock and went sliding down the side. Hiei turned at his girly squeal and watched as he grabbed onto a protrusion and dug the heels of his shoes into the surrounding rock. That was when he felt it.  
  
'Kuwabara, Yusuke! Jump!'  
  
The two looked up sharply and obeyed their companion's command, leaping out of the way just in time as the sleeping dragon awoke with a roar, rearing up its head and sending the snow just below where the two boys had been standing flying into the air before it crashed into a nearby cliff.  
  
'Uhh...Hiei?' Yusuke asked.  
  
'What?' Hiei turned his gaze towards the half-demon.  
  
'I found the dragon.'  
  
'Yusuke, do us all a favor and shut up.'  
  
Yusuke grinned then faced the now seething dragon. 'Let's kill us some dragon!!!'  
  
With that the two boys went in for the attack. Yusuke fired his trademark spirit gun, which reflected back at him after hitting a spray of ice from the dragon. Kuwabara tried to slash with his spirit sword but was knocked away with a swipe of a paw. They obviously weren't experienced in fighting dragons.  
  
Hiei, on the other hand, knew exactly what he had to do. He summoned up his Fist of the Mortal Flame and sent a blast of fire into the dragon's back, causing its head to turn towards him. He summoned his Sword of the Darkness Flame and threw it straight into one of its luminous blue eyes. It screeched in pain and raised its head towards the sky.  
  
Hiei saw the opportunity and quickly gathered his youki. 'Dragon of the Darkness Flame!!'  
  
The dragon flew with devastating speed and power straight into the heart of the ice dragon. The poor beast cried out in pain before collapsing upon the earth. Hiei directed his dragon to burn up all that was left of the dying beast to ensure his lover's memory would be restored. He watched as a ball of energy with Kiru's ki signature formed and shot off into the distance towards her.  
  
I got it back for you Kiru...I just hope that I did the right thing.  
  
--  
  
Me: Okay, that's it. Please review!!!  
  
Hiei: Yah, please review!! For me!! *cute eyes* 


	19. Chapter 19: Missing

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Hello everyone! Gomen about the long wait, but I had writer's block...  
  
Hiei: Excuses...excuses...  
  
Me: Will you just shut up and read the envelope!  
  
Hiei: Fine. *opening envelope* Last chapter, there was a better explanation of what a dragon's bind does. Me, Kuwabara, and Yusuke were traveling to Theta Island, where the dragon Kiru was bound to lives. We arrived and I took down the dragon after the idiots demonstrated their inexperience with dragon slaying. When it was dead, I saw a ball of ki with Kiru's signature fly off towards a portal and hoped that what I did was right and that those memories are good ones.  
  
Me: Okay, please enjoy!  
  
-In the Ningenkai-  
  
Yukina looked at Kiru, who was still in an herb-induced sleep. Four days had passed since Kiru's memory had started to be sapped. According to Hiei, that meant there were only two days left until...  
  
Yukina shivered. "No!" she said to the empty room. She didn't want to think about that. Kiru just had to get better! She shuddered to think of how devastated Hiei would be if Kiru forgot him.  
  
She brushed her little sister-in-law's hair back from her forehead. A slight fever still burned as a consequence of her wounds, but other than that, she was pretty much recovered thanks to the combined efforts of herself, Genkai and Kurama. Yukina smiled, she certainly was a fighter.  
  
She glanced at the bandages wrapped around Kiru's arms. She had just changed them about an hour ago, and was happy to see that the old scars were fading and the new ones were healing clean. Kiru had done so much for her- she had made her brother happy. She was only too glad to repay that debt in any way that she could.  
  
She fixed Kiru's blankets and got up- it was the end of her shift and, although she didn't want to leave her brother's lover, Kurama-kun wanted her to take a nap during his shift as he was doing right now.  
  
She has just opened the door when a ball of youki came flying through. 'Oh!' she gasped as it knocked her to the ground. It stopped and hovered above Kiru for a moment before descending into her. Yukina stared in shock for a few seconds before getting up and racing towards Kurama's room. 'Kuwabara-kun!!! Something just went into Kiru-chan's body!!'  
  
Kurama leapt up and shook the sleep from his head, 'Something what?' Thousands of thoughts of what Hiei would do to him if he let anything happen to his lover raced though his mind. He raced back with Yukina towards the room where Kiru was.  
  
He threw the door open, and stopped dead in his tracks. 'Inari...'  
  
Yukina ran into his back, 'What's wrong?!' She glanced around him and her jaw dropped.  
  
Kiru was gone.  
  
--  
  
Me: Okay, time for another evil cliffhanger!! ) =)  
  
Hiei: You are soooo evil!  
  
Me: I know! =)  
  
Hiei: *sigh* Please review even though she's evil.  
  
Me: Yay! Please do and recommend this fic to everyone you know!! Thankies in advance!!! =) 


	20. Chapter 20: The Dream

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Hello and welcome to another chapter of UV!! As you may have guessed, the story is drawing quickly to a close. So savor these last chapters people!! =)  
  
Hiei: Yeah! Wait...why am I agreeing with you?  
  
Me: I dunno.  
  
Hiei: I'm just going to shut up and read this stuff okay?  
  
Me: Whatever.  
  
Hiei: reading Last chapter, we took a trip into the temple where Kiru was being kept asleep via herbs. Yukina was watching after her, but at the end of her shift when she went to get Kurama, a ball of ki- the one containing Kiru's memories- flew past her and entered Kiru's body. But by the time she returned from getting Kurama, Kiru was gone.  
  
--  
  
'What do you mean gone!!?' Hiei yelled and slammed his fist into the wall.  
  
'By the time I got here, she was gone,' Kurama said, fearing slightly for his safety. 'I don't know how else to explain it.'  
  
Yukina saw that her brother was reaching the end of his patience and ran over to him, 'Oniisan, please calm down. She'll be okay.'  
  
'But...' Hiei trailed off, walking over to the window and looking out into the full moon.  
  
'Oniisan,' Yukina put a hand on his shoulder, 'You're worried that her old memories will change everything, ne?'  
  
Hiei sighed, 'Hai, what if...what if she remembers something...something...'  
  
'Hiei,' Kurama said, braving almost certain death, putting a hand on his shoulder, 'Nothing will ever change the bond you two share.' Hiei gave him a disbelieving look, 'Love is a powerful thing, my friend. Nothing short of death can disturb that bond, and sometimes not even that can.'  
  
Hiei glanced again out the window.  
  
'Onii-chan...' Yukina said, 'She braved so much for you, do you really think she'll just abandon someone she cares so much for?'  
  
Hiei thought for a moment more then turned to his two companions with a smile, 'You're right. I'm foolish to lose hope like that. No matter what happens, we'll always be together.' She promised, after all.  
  
He remembered her words from the last time he had seen her before this whole thing had begun. Now that he thought about it, he remembered something he had overlooked since that night.  
  
He had had a weird dream that night, and his tossing had woken his wife up.  
  
--Flashback--  
  
'Hiei! Wake up!'  
  
Hiei sat up quickly from the dream, covered in a layer of cold sweat. It was one that he hadn't had in a long time, but never wanted to have ever again.  
  
'Did you dream of...that...again?' Kiru knew the look in his eyes well, he had it when he dreamed that dream.  
  
That dream was not an uncommon theme in the least. It was that dream where your loved one, in his case Kiru, is walking away from you. You call and they stop, turning towards you and calling your name in response. You run for them, extending a hand- but no matter how fast or how far you run, they just get farther and farther away...  
  
But there was when the similarities ended. Hiei's dream was much more vivid.  
  
After a while, he would trip and Kiru would start to walk towards him. He would struggle to get up, but it would be no use, like he was chained down or something. As this distracted her, something- a mysterious giant shadow- would sneak up behind her. He would try to call out to her, but by the time he did it was always too late. The shadow would grab her and draw her away.  
  
'Hiei!' she would cry, reaching out for him. The chains would vanish and he would give chase, losing sight of her as the shadow turned and ran. He would, at this time, catch the shadow, but by the time he did, all that was left of his lover was a cold, dead shell- her face frozen forever in a fearful, pained expression and her hand ever reaching for the help that would never come...  
  
'Kiru,' he said, 'I never want that to happen. You are my reason for living...I never want to fail you like that...'  
  
'Hiei...' she said with a soothing smile and brushed a lock lovingly out of his face, 'No matter what happens, even if we are parted by death...we will always be together.'  
  
--End Flashback--  
  
They had made love afterwards, reaffirming their vows of love, and the dream had become little more than a forgotten memory in the corner of his mind.  
  
I should have known! Hiei mused to himself as he helped his teammates scan for any trace or trail of his lover's youki in the area.  
  
It never failed- any time he had that disturbing dream, his lover would meet with some sort of harm. It had happened before the phoenix incident, before the night they had been separated, and then before this whole fiasco started.  
  
Sure all the other times had ended well, but the end of the dream always haunted him...  
  
How much longer could he avoid that cold shadow of death?  
  
How much longer till he failed in his mission to protect his love?  
  
How much longer till his raison d'ete1 was gone?  
  
--  
  
1- raison d'ete means reason to live  
  
Me: Hope you enjoyed!!  
  
Hiei: Please review!!  
  
Me: Thankies in advance!! 


	21. Chapter 21: Awakened

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: Hello everyone, don't be mad, but chapters are gonna be sparse for a while, until school is over, not that I study for exams, but my teachers all pile on the homework and papers and projects and...well you all know how school is.  
  
Hiei: Excuses again?!  
  
Me: You wanna take over, Mr. I-can't-type-to-save-my-life?  
  
Hiei: No!  
  
Me: Then shut up!  
  
Hiei: Hn.  
  
Me: Just read the thing so we can get on with it!  
  
Hiei: Fine, last chapter, I returned back to the Ningenkai to find that Kiru, whose memories had just been returned, was gone. After a moment of panic, Kurama made me remember a promise from Kiriu and sent me into a flashback, one of a cryptic dream of Kiru's death that I always have before something bad happens to her. But she promised we would always be together- no matter what. I'm just hoping that 'what' doesn't mean the death foretold in that dream...  
  
--Mukuro's Fortress--  
  
The guards set to watch the cell Ryudo was in murmured amongst themselves as they waited for their lord or lady to return, trying their best to ignore the groans of pain coming from the interior of the cell.  
  
'I pity that demon,' one said, shaking his head, 'No one I know of survives when Hiei-sama is mad at them.'  
  
'Yeah, no kidding,' the other snorted, 'Especially where Lady Kiru is concerned, Hiei-sama is very unforgiving.'  
  
'I think he's too touchy if you ask me-' the guard cut himself off when footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Thinking it was Hiei for sure he thought to himself, I'm in for it now...Hiei-sama will never forgive that.  
  
'Lady Kiru?!' the guards both said incredulously, dropping to one knee as was customary when addressing their superior.  
  
She looked at them briefly, and nodded her head for them to stand.  
  
'Hiei-sama has been very worried about you, shouldn't you go-' one started to say.  
  
'Where's Ryudo?' she questioned, staring straight at one of the guards. The guard was speechless, the icy gaze pinning him down. This glare was foreign, for, although she was a merciless trainer, when they met out around the castle, her eyes always held a warm fondness for all, and a small smile graced her lips. But now...  
  
The guard pointed a shaking hand to the entrance to the cell Ryudo occupied, where a groan still emanated. She turned her glare towards the door and walked in without another word.  
  
--  
  
Ryudo groaned as the place where the knife had pierced his skin sent out a constant wave of agony. He had been in this precarious position for longer than he cared to remember. He was formulating a way to escape his almost- inevitable death, but things were looking worse by the moment.  
  
'What did I do to deserve this...?'  
  
'You have the imprudence to ask that after what you did to me?'  
  
He stilled as a voice he hadn't heard since long ago filled the room. A cold, terrifying voice filled with nothing but emptiness. He looked up into the speaker's icy crimson eyes, and was struck with a paralyzing fear he hadn't felt for centuries as her face lit up in a sinister smile. _Enma save my soul..._  
  
'What's the matter-cat got your tongue? Well, it won't matter soon,' a small dagger was taken out of a pocket, the blade caressed lovingly with a fingertip before being dragged across his cheek, 'now will it?'  
  
--  
  
The guards stared silently after her, their eyes fearful. Hiei-sama had given orders that no one should disturb...well kill the prisoner except for him; and Lady Kiru had a fearsome reputation even if it weren't for that creepy look...  
  
After much thinking during a long period of silence, they decided they needed help to deal with this circumstance. Then they ran off, towards the Ningenkai, to tell their lord of these strange events.  
  
Just a moment after they left, inhuman cries of pain filled the castle, chilling everyone within it to the very depths of their souls.  
  
-- Ningenkai--  
  
Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Mukuro and Yukina were in a room, trying to come up with some way to trace Kiru's whereabouts.  
  
After several attempts of good ideas, and many more failed ideas, they were brainstorming, or at least trying to.  
  
Then, just as everyone was about to scream from the frustration of it all, the guards from the castle ran in.  
  
'What are you doing here?' Mukuro said, hands on hips, 'You have orders to guard Ryudo's cell with your lives, and you're running around in the Ningenkai? You better have a good reason.'  
  
'Hiei-sama, Mukuro-sama,' they told them breathlessly, 'Lady Kiru is at the castle.'  
  
'Nani?!' Hiei jumped up from his perch on the windowsill.  
  
'She went into the prisoner's cell.'  
  
Everyone looked at Hiei, waiting for his call on what to do. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, torn about what to do. In one hand, he knew Kiru well enough to know she would want to get revenge on her own, on the other, he was afraid of what the 'new' memories would reveal to her and do to her; not to mention the fact he wanted to avenge her himself.  
  
'I'm going to see her, if you would, please wait here. I'll be back,' a pause, 'with or without her, later.'  
  
'Very well, Hiei,' Mukuro said, placing a hand on his shoulder, 'Good luck.'  
  
Hiei nodded at her and looked around at everyone else before flitting out the window to find his lover.  
  
--  
  
Me: Okay, that's all for now. I'll try to have another chapter up soon. Good-bye! Please review!!  
  
Hiei: Review!! PLEASE!! Ja ne!! 


	22. Chapter 22: Sealed Lips

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Hiei: Yay!! It's over!!!  
  
Me: Well, this one is....you don't really think the whole thing is over, do you?  
  
Hiei: Oh! I was hoping for a vacation.  
  
Me: Mmm...no.  
  
Hiei: Hn.  
  
Me: Just read the summary, k?  
  
Hiei: Hn. Last chapter, Kiru, who had left the temple following the presumed return of her memory, showed up in the Makai, at Mukuro's fortress, and demanded to be shown where Ryudo was. The guards, fearing the icy look in her eyes, showed her the cell. She went in and terrified Ryudo. The guards ran off to the Ningenkai to tell Mukuro and me about her appearance, just missing the cries of agony. Then, hearing their story, I left to go after my lover.  
  
Me: Enjoy! Standard disclaimers.  
  
-Mukuro's Castle-  
  
'Kami...'  
  
Even Hiei was shocked at the brutality in the cell Ryudo had previously occupied. Well...to be precise he was still there, but he was definitely dead. Every inch of the cell was painted in crimson; the walls were practically dripping blood, as well as the ceiling, and the floor was a puddle of red.  
  
But what shocked him the most was the weapon used in this carnage- only a small dagger. It was lying in the center of the room, plunged into what remained of Ryudo, which was little more than a bloody pile of flesh and bone, unrecognizable to anyone.  
  
From what Hiei had been able to gather from the youkai who were in and around the castle at the time, she had been seen walking in, then, about five minutes later, the guards had run out of the castle, followed about a minute later by a horrible screech. This screech lasted for about three minutes, causing everyone in the castle to get the heebie-jeebies. Most described it as the type of sound that makes your ears bleed; the kind of sound that comes only when someone is being killed- painfully. Hiei didn't doubt the latter- the scene most definitely looked very painful.  
  
Most incredibly, everyone had vowed that Kiru walked out of that cell spotlessly clean. There wasn't a drop of blood to be found leading from the cell either. Hiei didn't think anyone was capable of doing that, but he saw it with his own eyes, he had to admit.  
  
A little dazed, Hiei flitted off towards his home, where many had seen Kiru heading after the...incident. He arrived to see smoke curling gently from the chimney of the cottage, as well as a warm glow emanating from the windows. He walked towards the door and opened it gently, hoping to catch Kiru in whatever it was she was doing.  
  
The door swung open and he stepped in to see her sitting on her favorite chair in the living room, where she always waited for him when he returned home from meetings with the rest of the Makai lords. In her hands was the book on Karma Sutra, carefully studying a page. She was wearing an outfit identical to the one she had worn the night of the attack.  
  
She looked up at him with a smile, 'Hiei! I'm so happy you're back. Was the meeting too terrible this time?'  
  
Hiei's eyes narrowed, 'What are you talking about? Are you all right? Why did you leave without waiting for me?'  
  
She tilted her head to the side, 'Leave where? I've been here all day long.' She grinned, 'Now don't be silly, I found a new one in the book. Why don't we try it?'  
  
Hiei stepped up to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. He studied her's- they held an odd emptiness, as well as an icy wall, one that he hadn't seen since he had first met her. 'Kiru...don't hide from me. What did you remember that's affecting you so?'  
  
She pulled away, 'Hide? From you? I would never hide. Not from you.' She looked straight into his eyes. Her own still had that emptiness, but now they also held unshed tears, and pleaded for understanding.  
  
Hiei pulled her into an embrace, smoothing her hair gently as she gave into her sobs. 'I understand, koi. Just tell me when you're ready...promise?'  
  
She nodded and burrowed deeper into his arms. Hiei grabbed her chin again, and kissed away her tears before capturing her lips in a sweet kiss, giving her the reassurance of his love to cling to.  
  
-Ningenkai, three hours later-  
  
Hiei stepped into the room and slid the door closed. The occupants of the room- Yukina, Kuwabara, Mukuro, Kurama, Yusuke, and Genkai- looked up at him, question held in their eyes.  
  
'Okay,' Hiei said, 'She's all right...for the most part. She's waiting outside, in the hallway.'  
  
'For the most part?' Kurama asked, standing up and walking over towards him. 'What's wrong?'  
  
Hiei sighed and closed his eyes briefly, 'She won't tell me what she remembers, and she refuses to acknowledge that anything has happened. She's acting as if it's still the day of the meeting.'  
  
Mukuro stood up, 'But why?'  
  
Hiei shook his head, 'I don't know, all I could get out of her was a promise to tell me what she remembered when she was ready.'  
  
'Whatever it is must be pretty terrible to affect her that much,' Genkai said, 'If she won't tell us, it means that its something she is guilty about.'  
  
'Then we had better keep a good eye on her,' Kuwabara said.  
  
'What? Why?' Yukina asked, her naivety showing through.  
  
'Because,' Kurama said gently, 'if she feels as if she's committed some horrible sin, she might...' He whispered the remaining words to her as not to upset Hiei.  
  
Mukuro stepped forward, 'We'll all keep an eye on her at the castle.'  
  
Hiei nodded, 'Yes, it will be better to keep her there.' He took a deep breath, I'm going to get her now, so remember, don't talk about it.'  
  
Everyone nodded, and Hiei left, returning a few moments later accompanied by Kiru.  
  
Kiru smiled, 'Hello, everyone.' They were all speechless for a moment as they saw the empty look in her eyes.  
  
'Oi, Ru-chan,' Mukuro said, 'why don't you two stay with Kurama and me for a while? We'll even bring Yukina and have a girl's night in!'  
  
Kiru looked at the two and nodded, 'Sounds great.'  
  
The three walked out, Mukuro looking at Hiei and Kurama briefly before following them to the portal.  
  
Hiei and Kurama said their goodbyes and followed.  
  
Hiei looked at his best friend. 'I just hope she'll be alright...'  
  
--  
  
Me: Oh I couldn't resist just one more cliffhanger.  
  
Hiei: Hn!  
  
Me: He's just mad cause there's no vacation yet! Don't mind him and review!!  
  
Hiei: Hn. 


	23. Epilogue: The Last Question

Unpaid Vengeance  
  
Part of the Relations series  
  
Me: You just read last chapter, so no summary this time.  
  
Hiei: Hn.  
  
Me: Enjoy and don't forget to review!! Oh, standard disclaimers.  
  
-Mukuro's Castle, Three months later-  
  
'Hiei!!!' Kiru called, chasing after him in the hallway.  
  
'Kiru!' Hiei turned around and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and spinning her around before capturing her lips in a kiss.  
  
Kiru smiled after they broke the kiss. Hiei smiled back, quickly scanning her eyes. The empty look had faded after a while and she had regained her normal teasing vibrancy.  
  
Hiei thought she was mostly better, but there was still something wrong. She was a little off and sometimes he would catch her staring aimlessly out a window with a dejected look in her eyes. Mukuro and Kurama also spoke of it and Yukina had told him of some odd occurrences as well. But as soon as she noticed someone was watching her, she would stop and act normally.  
  
Hiei had to face the facts- Kiru wasn't going to tell him what she remembered until she was damned ready. He had tried everything from persuasion to outright probing her mind, but nothing worked.  
  
They had made some progress though, she would consent to talk about her encounter with Ryudo now. It was a very good thing that he was dead, because, after hearing of the agony she had been through, there were three demons that wanted nothing less than to kill him again. Yusuke had ensured that Ryudo's spirit was deep in the bowels of hell and being given the most terrible of tortures.  
  
They had packed up yesterday and were getting ready to go home today, after a three-month stay with Mukuro and Kurama. Yukina was heading back to Genkai's temple.  
  
Things were looking brighter, and that was all Hiei would ask for. He knew that emptiness would eventually fade, and he would be there for her no matter what.  
  
--  
  
Hiei and Kiru returned to their cottage later that night. Hiei scooped her up into his arms and carried her giggling form into the bedroom. He placed her on the bed before pouncing on her.  
  
'Y'know...' he said as he traced a finger down her shirt, 'You never did show me that position...'  
  
Kiru laughed sultrily and pulled his head down for a kiss, 'Well, there's no time better than the present...'  
  
Hiei growled and ripped off her clothes then his own. He captured her mouth again and ran his hands down her body.  
  
'Aishiteru, Kiru,' he said, kissing her arched neck, 'Aishiteru zutto.'  
  
'And I you, Hi-chan,' Kiru said, 'Nothing will ever keep us apart. Nothing.'  
  
The night was soon filled with sounds of pleasure as they shared their love for each other and lost themselves in that depthless love.  
  
--  
  
Later that night, while Hiei slept, Kiru got up. She pulled on her satin robe and walked out to the living room. She pulled open the curtains and looked at the moon. A clear night was as rare as a flawless diamond in the Makai.  
  
She walked outside to a rocking chair Hiei had bought her the week they had moved in. She sat down and buried her face in her hands.  
  
'Forgive me...Momma, Daddy...I failed...'  
  
Her sobs filled the night as the world slept on, oblivious to her sorrow.  
  
She controlled her sobs sometime before dawn. She returned to the house and washed away the evidence of her tears, she peeked in on her husband, the best thing to ever come into her life, and smiled. He was sleeping like a baby. She walked into the kitchen and made breakfast- Hiei would wake up soon and they would share another day together.  
  
And as long as she kept up a mask of happiness, they would never be touched by her sorrow, nor her pain.  
  
As long as she kept up her mask, she would protect them.  
  
As long as she kept up her mask, they would love her.  
  
--  
  
Owari.  
  
Me: That's it!! Yay!!!  
  
Hiei: ARRGH! You ended on a cliffhanger! YOU are sooo evil!!  
  
Me: What? That means they know they get another installation.  
  
Hiei: Whatever. OH and don't forget to review everyone!!  
  
Me: I hope you all enjoyed Unpaid Vengeance. Stay tuned for a sequel soon!  
  
Hiei: Ja ne!! 


End file.
